


bite me, asshole

by DragonsAndCryptids



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Crushes, Dialogue Heavy, Enby Natsu, F/F, Feral Behavior, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Pre-Canon, also natsu is a little devil child, dragon slayers are very weird, it takes everyone a bit to get used to natsu, lil bit of erzajane on erza's part
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-19 08:47:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29747967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonsAndCryptids/pseuds/DragonsAndCryptids
Summary: When Gildarts brings a strange new kid back to the guild, Porlyusica warns everyone that it's going to take Natsu some time to adjust, and given his unique magic, he's not going to completely understand a lot of human things. No one really believes her until they actually begin interacting with Natsu, and realize even things as simple as haircuts and shoes confuse him. Not to mention the strange ways he treats them.But Gray is determined to win over this weird dragon boy before anyone else does, and it has nothing to do with any kind of stupid crush, despite what Cana is telling everyone.
Relationships: Cana Alberona/Mirajane Strauss, Natsu Dragneel & Gray Fullbuster & Erza Scarlet, Natsu Dragneel & Lisanna Strauss, Natsu Dragneel/Gray Fullbuster
Comments: 25
Kudos: 109





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have recently fallen down a gratsu rabbit hole, so now you all get this. It will probably be a few chapters long, though I'm not completely sure yet. 
> 
> Also Natsu is afab here, and there is some misgendering that goes on at the beginning, though it's due to confusion, rather than any ill intent, and I'm not planning for there to be any more of it after this chapter
> 
> Also the Cana/Mira is very much thirteen year olds getting excited over their first girlfriend type thing, it's not super serious, but then again, these are children, so hopefully you aren't going into this expecting the ships to be super serious anyways

Gildarts liked to think he was prepared for most things he came across. Considering the kind of work he did, he’d encountered a lot of  _ strange _ things. Unheard of magic, rare monsters, fucked up dark guilds. 

But that being said… he  _ was not _ prepared to almost have the tips of his fingers nearly bitten off by a feral child out in the woods.

He’d been sifting through the undergrowth, picking some berries from the vines, thinking that it was lucky he’d stumbled across it, and that he would have something to eat rather than just the rations in his bag, when he’d felt the sharp pain in his fingers and yanked them back, watching with morbid fascination as blood dripped down his hand. He’d expected some kind of small, wild animal, that he’d been unlucky enough to disturb. The quiet growling that followed the nip only solidified that theory. 

But he wasn’t about to give up part of his dinner because some animal didn’t want to move from its hiding spot, so he shoved the brush out of the way, expecting whatever it was to quickly vacate the bushes. 

He  _ was not _ expecting the yelp that came from the undergrowth, and Gildarts frowned. “What the hell…?” He yanked more of the brush back, his eyes widening as he saw not any kind of animal, but a  _ kid. _ A small, dirty,  _ angry _ kid, who glared up at him with more ferocity than Gildarts had ever seen from a child. 

At first, he assumed it must have been some kid from a nearby town or village, out playing in the woods, before he realized he didn’t even know  _ where _ the nearest town was, not to mention, after getting a better look at them, Gildarts could tell no one had been taking care of this kid. 

“What the hell are you doing all the way out here?” he asked, reaching his hand out to tug them out of the bushes, but another snap of teeth had him jerking back, not wanting to actually give the kid the chance to take a chunk out of him. Something told him he was lucky that only his fingertips had been caught by those teeth earlier. 

The kid pulled back, and Gildarts was glad they were backed against an impossible tangle of underbrush, otherwise he had no doubt they would have run. While they were trying to mask it with aggression, he could tell they were terrified. Their entire body was trembling, and of course, only an absolutely terrified kid would try and  _ bite _ someone for no apparent reason. 

“Hey, come on, now, I ain’t gonna hurt you,” Gildarts said. To prove his point, he backed away, and sat down on the ground, crossing his legs, and pulling his bag into his lap. “Want a snack?” he asked, beginning to dig through it. “Got some jerky, dried vegetables?” 

The kid blinked, but their posture slowly began to relax. 

Gildarts didn’t pretend to know a lot about children. Or hell, really people in general. Even without his alienating magic, he’d never been great at connecting with anyone, before he joined Fairy Tail, and the bastards decided they liked him for some reason. But that being said, if the kid was going to act like a scared animal, Gildarts would treat them like a scared animal, and let them come to him when they were ready. 

He placed some of the jerky just outside the bush, before continuing to rustle through his bag, trying to decide what  _ he _ wanted for dinner. 

Not even a minute later, a little hand shot out from the bushes and snatched the food. 

“If you come out, I’ll give you more,” Gildarts coaxed. “Maybe tell me your name?” He hoped a voice and name would help clue him in to the kid’s gender. Thanks to the unruly pink hair (that had actually been matted down in some places), being covered in dirt and leaves, and being so scrawny they were practically skin and bones, Gildarts had no idea. 

It also forced him to wonder just how long they’d been out here alone. Were they lost? Somehow separated from a family? Or, the more sickening thought, had they been abandoned? 

It took a few more minutes, but the kid finally crawled out of the bushes and sat next to him, the jerky still clutched in one little fist. Gildarts didn’t acknowledge them, even as they leaned over to sniff at him, which he found quite strange, but decided not to dwell on it. 

But, the kid seemed satisfied with him, and relaxed, turning their attention to the jerky. The piece of meat went up in flames, charring to a crisp, before being devoured so quickly Gildarts was worried it hadn’t even been chewed. 

The kid held out their hand. “You have more?” 

_ Well, at least they  _ can _ talk, _ Gildarts thought in relief. Even if their voice didn’t clue him into their gender at all. He might just have to ask. But for now, he handed more food to them, since getting some food in their belly was far more important at the moment, considering how underweight they were. 

Once again, the food was lit ablaze before being eaten. 

“So, you got fire magic, huh?” Well, he was glad it was just the teeth he’d been faced with earlier, and not being set on fire. 

“Yeah, my dad taught me,” they said around the mouthful of food. “You seen any dragons around here, old man?” 

“I ain’t that old,” Gildarts grumbled. “And no, I can’t say that I have. Why?” Dear god, he hoped this kid hadn’t gotten this lost trying to find  _ dragons. _

The kid frowned. “M’trying to find my dad. You’re  _ sure _ you haven’t seen any? He’s big, and red!” They threw their arms out, trying to exaggerate size. “He’s gotta be around  _ somewhere.”  _

“Wait… you trying to tell me this dragon  _ is _ your dad?” Gildarts asked. Had this kid been out here long enough to actually go crazy? 

“Yeah, ‘course he is.” They held their hand out for more food. “But I can’t…” Their expression fell. “I can’t find him anywhere.” 

Gildarts sighed. Crazy or not, he couldn’t just leave this kid out here. “How long have you been out here?” 

They shrugged. “Dunno… Haven’t seen Igneel in…” They held their fingers up, counting off on them. “Four… Five…” 

“Days?” 

They shook their head. “What’s the one that’s longer than days?” 

“Weeks?” Gildarts supplied, pity overtaking him as he realized this kid had been just barely surviving out here for that long. No wonder they looked as rough as they did. 

“Mmhm.” They shook their head harder. “The other one.” 

_ “Months?” _ Gildarts demanded. 

“Yeah! That one!” 

“God…” Gildarts drug his hand down his face. “I want you to come with me, kid. I’m gonna take you with me, to some people who can find you somewhere to live.” 

“No!” They jumped to their feet, raising their fists and glaring. “No, I’m not going anywhere! I have to find my dad!” 

Gildarts didn’t really  _ want _ to play into this dragon delusion, but he knew he’d make even less progress if he insisted the dragon hadn’t existed. “If you’ve been looking for that long and haven’t found anything, don’t you think you should try something new? Hey, at the least, if you come with me, you can get some  _ real _ food.” 

The kid didn’t look at all interested until food was mentioned. “Where?” 

“My guild, they’ve got some other kids your age, too,” he said. “I promise they’ll take good care of you, while we figure out a place for you to go.” Or hell, given the way Makarov had taken to practically adopting children, this kid might have just found a permanent home, especially considering that fire magic of theirs. 

The kid hesitated, but eventually nodded. “I get food?” 

“Yes,” Gildarts assured them. “You’ll get food. Now, what the hell should I call you? I need a name.” 

“Natsu.” 

Gildarts frowned. It was… kind of a feminine name. So she was probably a girl, right? Well, he’d just go with it until it came up. “Right. Well then, come on, Natsu. Let’s get going.” 

* * *

It took a week to travel back to Magnolia, most of it with Natsu clinging onto him, insisting that Igneel used to carry her everywhere. It wasn’t  _ that _ bad, she probably only weighed about forty-five pounds, but it was rather annoying to have the kid constantly climbing all over him and clinging onto him. Gildarts knew it was probably because she was touch starved, if she really had been alone for so long, so he tried to just go with it. 

Plus, Natsu was kind of starting to grow on him. The kid was weird as hell, and maybe a little crazy, but damn, was she likable. As soon as she decided she’d liked Gildarts, she’d gotten chatty. Actually, Gildarts didn’t think she’d shut up for even a moment. 

It wasn’t until after they’d boarded their first train that they had their first real issue. Natsu had gotten worryingly quiet as soon as they’d reached town, constantly flinching, and covering her ears and nose, as well as burying her face in Gildarts’s cloak, but likely she was just a little overwhelmed, or didn’t like crowds. 

However, the second the train began to move, she’d groaned and slid out of her seat, curling up on the floor. 

“Hey, Natsu.” Gildarts leaned down, and tried to lift her back up into the seat. “What’s wrong? You can’t just lay in the floor like this.” 

She went completely limp, her skin going worryingly pale with a sickly sheen of sweat covering it. 

“Come on, talk to me, kid.” Gildarts pulled her into his lap, just in time for her to gag, and throw her lunch up all over him and the seat. 

“Ah, god.” It took everything in Gildarts not to drop her out of instinct. That was  _ disgusting. _ How could someone so tiny even fit that much vomit inside them to begin with? 

“Sorry…” Natsu moaned, weakly wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “My belly feels bad…” 

“Yeah, no kidding.” Gildarts sat her back in her seat. “Stay here. I’m gonna go see if I can’t find something to clean this up with.” Like hell he was going to sit covered in vomit for a five hour train ride. “Dammit.” 

He’d only  _ just _ gotten Natsu cleaned up this morning, and now she was covered in vomit. It’d taken him the whole week to convince her to let him wash her hair, but even he hadn’t been able to get all the mats out. Unfortunately, they’d probably have to be cut out. He’d also gotten her some new clothes this morning, since her old ones were disgusting and covered in tears and holes. 

As much as he was starting to like the kid, he couldn’t wait to pass her off onto Makarov. 

* * *

Makarov knew something had to have come up for Gildarts to be returning so soon. He’d only left three months ago, but he hadn’t been prepared at all for the small child clinging to the man’s back, warily eyeing anyone that moved too quickly or made a noise too loud in the guildhall. 

“Hey, Master,” Gildarts greeted. “I found something for ya!” He twisted to grab the child and remove them from his back. “This little runt here is Natsu. Found her out in the woods, and she’s a fire wizard. Apparently, she doesn’t have a home.” 

Well, Makarov couldn’t say he was surprised by that, given the sorry state of her hair, and the hollowness of her cheeks. 

“I have a home…” she muttered sullenly. “I just need to find my dad…” 

Makarov gave Gildarts a questioning look. 

The man just sighed and shook his head. “She said she was raised by a dragon, but that it disappeared one day.” 

“Ah…” Makarov frowned himself. He wasn’t sure he believed that, but if the child truly did, it could prove to be a problem, especially if she insisted on continuing to look for this dragon. “Well, young lady, how about—” 

“I’m not a lady!” she shouted, squirming her way out of Gildarts’s hold. 

“You’re… not?” Makarov could admit, he likely would have no idea what gender the child was if Gildarts hadn’t said something. If it weren’t for the fact that she hadn’t protested being called  _ she _ already, Makarov would have assumed Gildarts had merely been mistaken. 

She shook her head. “No, I’m a boy!” 

“What the hell, kid? I’ve been callin’ you a girl all week, how come you never  _ said _ anything?” Gildarts asked. 

Natsu’s eyes went wide. “You  _ have?” _

“What do you think  _ she _ means?” Gildarts demanded. 

Natsu shrugged, like he couldn’t be bothered with it. “I dunno, I just thought… I don’t know…” 

Makarov’s frown deepened. “How about we go to my office, and we can figure out what to do with you, alright, Natsu?” 

“Okay…” 

* * *

As soon as the door to the office was closed, Natsu began to relax, the tension leaving his muscles. “You’re all so  _ loud,” _ he moaned. “My head hurts…” 

“Loud?” Makarov asked. 

“She—He—” Gildarts corrected himself. “He’s been bothered by it as soon as we got out of the woods. The noises, and smells? I don’t know, he doesn’t like bright lights either.” 

“And you found him where?” 

“Nearly a week away from any civilization,” he said. “He says he’s always been out in the woods like that with this supposed dragon, but it wasn’t until several months ago that he was alone.” 

Though he was still confused by the dragon part, given the fact that Natsu was confused by something as simple as pronouns, and was having adverse reactions to towns and cities, he was inclined to believe that he’d lived out in the woods for a very long time. “Natsu, how old are you?” 

He shrugged. “Dunno… Think I was with Igneel for… for five years?” He fell down to the floor, and began to fidget with the scarf he wore. 

“Time seems to confuse him a bit,” Gildarts said. 

“Right…” Honestly, Makarov didn’t think he’d ever end up interacting with more difficult children than Gray or Erza, but just a few minutes with Natsu already had him confused and at a loss of what to do with him. “Well, first things first, I think we should take him to Porlyusica. She can make sure nothing is actually wrong with him, and maybe give us an estimation on his age.” 

* * *

By this point, Porlyusica was getting used to Makarov bringing her little kids, but this one had even her shocked. 

Somehow, he’d found a dragon slayer. A legitimate dragon slayer, that had been granted his magic without a lacrima. Makarov and Gildarts had demanded to know more as soon as she confirmed the boy’s story about the dragon to be true, but she chased them out. Right now, she needed to make sure Natsu was okay. Never mind the malnourishment, he was likely suffering mentally, due to his father disappearing, and so abruptly being dropped into a completely foreign environment. 

And considering the myths of dragon slayers actually adopting characteristics and behaviors of the greats beasts, she was surprised he hadn’t instinctually lashed out at anyone yet. 

“Now, I need you to sit still for me, Natsu,” she said. “If anything I do hurts or bothers you, please let me know, alright?” 

He nodded, and relaxed more than he had since this had all started. 

Porlyusica bit back a grumble. Stupid humans, didn’t they  _ realize _ how stressed and uncomfortable Natsu was? Gildarts had practically dragged back a baby dragon, with no regard for how he would adjust or needed to be taken care of. Of course, it wasn’t that she would have wanted him to leave Natsu alone in the woods like that, but a little more  _ thought _ and consideration would have been nice. 

She examined his eyes, ears, and nose, and while she found the physical anomalies that would accompany heightened sense, there was nothing out of the ordinary. She also cleaned and bandaged some old cuts and scrapes on his arms and legs, not wanting to risk an infection setting in. 

“Natsu, can you open your mouth for me?” she requested, gently tapping his jaw. “And stick your tongue out?” 

“Okay!” He obeyed her request, and stuck his tongue out as far as he could manage. Porlyusica dimly noted that it seemed longer than a normal human tongue, and appeared rough, almost like a cat’s, but she ignored that for now, instead investigating the back of his throat. 

“You said you use fire?” 

“Yeah!” 

“Don’t talk,” she scolded. “Just nod or shake your head.” 

He nodded. 

Porlyusica hummed, taking in what almost looked like  _ scales _ coating the back of his throat, and edging towards the roof of his mouth. “You breathe fire?” 

He nodded again. 

So the scales must be to help prevent internal burns when he did so. She was sure he had an immunity to fire, as a fire wizard, but this was probably due to the dragon side of his magic, an evolutionary defense of fire dragons who could breathe the flames, but relied on their scales to actually be  _ fireproof.  _

“Alright, you can put your tongue back in, but keep your mouth open, I want to check your teeth. Now, have you lost any baby teeth yet?” she asked. 

Natsu’s eyebrows pinched together, like he was thinking hard, before he nodded. 

She had some more questions for him regarding that, but they were a bit more complicated than  _ yes  _ or  _ no _ answers, so she made quick work of her inspection, noting the larger size and how much sharper two of his canines and one of his incisors were. “Alright, I’m done now,” she said, leaning back. “Now, when you lose your teeth, is that when they grow back sharper?” 

“Yeah! Igneel said it was my first set of fangs growin’ in!” he said, a proud grin on his face. 

The word  _ first _ had her concerned, but they could worry about multiple rounds of teething if it became an issue. “Are any of your teeth loose now? And do you like to chew on things when they come out?” 

He shrugged. “Dunno.” He began to poke at his teeth with his tongue. “Maybe, and yeah, Igneel always let me keep some bones to chew on.” 

“Alright, now, I need you to lift your shirt up for me,” she said. “I need to check your heartbeat and breathing.” 

“Okay!” 

* * *

Porlyusica finished with her checkup about half an hour later, reasonably sure she’d checked for anything that might cause an issue later down the road, though she was going to have to spend the next few days hunting down more information on dragon slayers than what she currently had, as Natsu was proof that it was definitely going to have physical and mental effects. As soon as she was done, she let Natsu crawl into the box of blankets beneath her extra bed and drift off. He’d been yawning and struggling to keep his eyes open ever since Gildarts and Makarov had brought him out here. 

“So?” Makarov demanded the second she stepped outside of her cabin. “The stuff he said about the dragon is true?” 

Porlyusica huffed, and briefly considered whacking him with the broom leaned against the doorframe. “Yes, it is. I don’t know how, considering no one has really seen any dragons for nearly four hundred years, but he had to have been raised by a dragon, or at least  _ met _ one, to be granted the magic he has.” 

“Shit.” Gildarts shook his head. “Where’s the kid at? I should apologize.” 

“He’s asleep right now, he was exhausted,” she said. “And I want you to leave him here with me for at least a week anyways.” 

“What, why? There’s not anything wrong with him, is there?” Makarov asked, his voice laced with worry. 

“Beyond the fact that he is  _ completely _ overwhelmed, and doesn’t understand human socialization at all,  _ no,” _ she said, already growing irritated. “Not only was he raised by a dragon,  _ as _ a dragon, due to his magic, his brain is going to work differently than any of ours. It’s going to take him a while to adjust, and even then, he’ll always be a little different.” She shook her head. “I want you to leave him with me for a while, and only bring him into town for little stints at a time to get his senses used to all of it, and bring the other children from the guild to meet him,  _ one at a time, _ since he’ll likely be spending most of his time with them, and it’ll be easier for other children to adapt to him.” 

“You’re saying all this like you’re expecting him to stay here,” Makarov said. 

Porlyusica scoffed. “Please, I know the second you laid eyes on him, you were going to try and convince him to stay with your guild, which I honestly don’t think you’ll have a lot of trouble doing.” 

“Yeah…” Makarov agreed. “I can’t really argue there. Did you figure out how old he is?” 

The healer sighed and crossed her arms. “I can’t do more than guess, but I’d say nine at the youngest, twelve at the oldest. It’s difficult to tell, but if I really had to guess, I would say eleven.” 

“He seems small for an eleven year old,” Gildarts argued. 

“If you aren’t going to listen to me, you can just leave,” she snapped. Quite honestly, Gildarts was one of her  _ least _ favorite Fairy Tail mages to deal with. 

He raised his hands in surrender. “Hey, I didn’t mean nothing by it, I was just saying. But we do know for sure he’s a boy now?” he asked. “He seemed  _ really _ confused by that.” 

Porlyusica sighed. “You do realize that he was raised out in the wild by a single dragon.” 

“Yeah, we’ve made that abundantly clear,” he grumbled. 

“Well, just like there’s bound to be a lot of other things he doesn’t understand, he probably just can’t grasp the way  _ we _ all think about gender,” she explained. “After all, it is very much a social construct, hence why he didn’t understand why you calling him  _ she _ insinuated he was a girl.” 

“Okay…” Gildarts just seemed to be getting more and more confused. 

Porlyusica bit back a growl.  _ “So, _ we can assume, that for whatever reason, this dragon that raised him called him a boy.” 

“Wait,  _ called _ him a boy?” Makarov interrupted. 

The healer nodded.  _ “Biologically _ speaking, Natsu is female. However, it’s obvious he doesn’t want to be called a girl, and as soon as he realizes  _ she _ is most often associated with that, he probably won’t want to be called that either. And, so long as that remains true, we will all treat him as a boy, alright?” 

“Well fuck, now I feel bad,” Gildarts muttered. 

“Of course, Porlyusica, so long as that’s what he wants,” Makarov said. 

“Right. Now, at the moment, it’s not a big deal. Just give him clothes meant for boys, and cut his hair, which you’re going to need to do anyways because of the mats and knots, and most likely, no one will have any idea or question a thing,” she said. “However, when he gets older, it’ll likely… be more of an issue. Of course, I have magic that can help with that, if that’s what he wants. But like I said, just for right now, it isn’t a big deal, and I suggest not treating it as such, considering Natsu likely doesn’t understand it himself. Now…” She began to reach for her broom. “Get the hell off my property, and don’t come back for at least a day. Let that poor boy get some fucking sleep.” 

“Alright, alright,” Makarov said. “We’ll go. I’ll bring one of the kids by in a couple days.” 

Porlyusica let her grimace fade as both men left, before she went back inside the cabin, and began writing letters to various libraries asking for books on dragon slayers. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I wasn't expecting so many people to like this, but hey, you inspired me to go ahead and write the next chapter outside of my writing schedule lmao

Natsu yawned and uncurled himself, before resettling in the box, relishing in the warmth. It was nothing close to Igneel, but it was easily the warmest place he’d slept since he’d gotten separated from his father. At some point during the night, he’d ended up tangled in all the blankets, not that he minded. It just made it all the more cozy. 

“I can hear you rustling around down there, and if you’re awake, you need to get up. I’m not letting you sleep all day again.” 

Natsu moaned and snuggled further into the blankets. He was  _ tired, _ and it felt so nice to actually be safe enough to sleep deeply again.

“You best be up in the next ten minutes if you want breakfast.” 

Natsu’s eyes snapped open, and his stomach rumbled in response. He didn’t hesitate another moment before crawling out of the box, shaking the blankets off, and worming his way out from underneath the bed. 

Porlyusica, didn’t bother to look towards him. She sat at a little wooden table, flipping through some kind of book. 

“Hey.” Natsu tugged at her skirt. “Hey, lady. I’m hungry.” 

She still didn’t look away from her book. “That’s not how you ask for things.” 

Natsu frowned. What did she  _ mean _ that wasn’t how he asked for things? “But I’m hungry.” She’d said he could have food if he got up. 

Porlyusica finally turned to look at him, and despite her irritated scowl, she didn’t actually seem mad. Rather, she seemed amused. “I know. You slept for nearly two days. But that still isn’t how you ask for things.” 

He tugged harder at her skirt. “I’m  _ hungry.”  _

“Say please, and I’ll make you something.” 

Oh yeah. Igneel said it was nice to say please when he wanted something, right? “Please?” 

She huffed, but got up from the table. “We’ll work on that later.” 

* * *

“What… is this?” Natsu poked at the metal sticks Porlyusica had placed down in front of him. They looked like some kind of little weapon. 

“Silverware,” the woman said. “This is a fork.” She picked it up, and placed it in Natsu’s hand, carefully adjusting his fingers so he could hold it a certain way. “You use it to eat.” 

“Why?” he whined. It was just an extra step that took it that much longer to get the food into his mouth. His hands worked just fine! Why did he have to  _ bother _ with this? 

“Hush,” Porlyusica scolded. “I’ll be far more tolerant of you and your habits than most probably will, but having said that, I refuse to let you behave like an absolute heathen. That, and something like using silverware doesn’t go against your  _ nature, _ you just don’t want to learn.” 

Damn right he didn’t! There was no point in it! “I just wanna  _ eat.”  _

“And you can.” Porlyusica set down a plate of food, right in front of him, but held him back by the scarf when he tried to lunge for it. “With the fork and spoon.” 

Though it took quite a bit of back and forth, Natsu begrudgingly agreed to eat with the silverware. He had trouble holding it the exact way Porlyusica wanted him to, but the healer didn’t seem to mind as much as he’d been worried she would. 

“When you’re done, I’m going to try and wash your hair, and get the knots and mats out,” she said. “Alright? I’ll be as gentle as I can, but it might hurt.” 

“Yeah, whatever,” Natsu mumbled around his mouthful of food. With one hand, he reached up to tug at a strand of his hair. He didn’t know what was wrong with it, why it suddenly felt so bad and itchy and gross no matter what he did. Sure, without Igneel to tell him to, he didn’t wash off in rivers as much, and he  _ definitely _ wasn’t getting cleaned by the dragon himself, but he didn’t know why that would really  _ matter. _

“It’s a shame,” Porlyusica said. “You would have such pretty hair if you’d bothered to take care of it.” 

“It’s the same color as yours!” he exclaimed. 

The healer sighed and shook her head. “I suppose it is. But I know I won’t be able to salvage it all, so we’re going to have to cut it.” 

_ “What!?” _ Natsu dropped his fork, leaving it to clatter against the plate, and tangled both of his hands in his hair. “You—You can’t just cut it off!” 

“We have to,” she insisted. “It’s dirty, and you could very easily end up with lice and fleas if we just let it get worse. Besides, if you want less people to think you’re a girl, you’ll need to cut it.” 

“But…” He gripped his hair tighter. He’d never had a haircut before. He didn’t even know you could  _ do _ that. Did it hurt? And what the hell did Porlyusica mean about people thinking he was a girl because he had long hair? That didn’t make any sense! “I don’t understand…” 

“Like I said, I’ll try and salvage as much of it as I can,” she said. “And we’ll only cut off what we have to, if that’s what you want, though that will still be a considerable amount, considering most of the mats are near your scalp. And yes, unfortunately, longer hair will most likely make more people think you are a girl.” 

“That’s  _ stupid,” _ he growled. 

“Yes, it is,” Porlyusica agreed. “But unfortunately, that’s the world we live in. When you get older, depending on any decisions you make, your hair won’t be as big of a deal, but right now, it is.” 

“I don’t  _ understand,” _ he repeated. He just didn’t. Nothing the healer said was making any sense. 

Porlyusica took a deep breath. “You don’t like being called a girl, but you like being called a boy, right?” 

He shook his head. “Nah, who cares about that kinda thing?” 

“Oh?” She leaned forward. “Then why did you get upset when Makarov called you a lady?” 

“I…” His gaze dropped down to the uneaten food on his plate, and for the first time in his life, Natsu really didn’t feel like finishing his meal. “I dunno… I just…” 

“Look, Natsu, I just want you to be as comfortable as possible. I’m not expecting you to understand everything I’m saying perfectly, or even what you feel, all I need to know, is what makes you feel better?” she asked. 

“Being called a boy,” he said automatically. 

“Right. That’s all I need to know right now,” she said. “Now, finish your breakfast, we’ve got several things to do today.” 

* * *

“There’s gonna be a new kid!?” Cana exclaimed, already grinning. “When are they getting here? How old are they?” 

Gray didn’t listen to the rest of Makarov’s explanation. Honestly, he didn’t really care. There was gonna be a new member, so what? Gray would bet anything it was that pink-haired kid that Gildarts had brought back the other day. 

“Now, he’s not used to people, so I’m only going to be able to introduce him to you one at a time for now,” Makarov said. “So who wants to go today?” 

Gray perked up at that. He wasn’t used to people? Maybe that meant he would be quiet. That would be nice… No one else here was ever really  _ quiet. _ “I’ll go,” Gray offered, before anyone else could manage. 

“Oh?” Surprise flitted across Makarov’s face, not that Gray could really blame him. The older man had been encouraging Gray to get closer with the other kids ever since he joined Fairy Tail, but he’d stubbornly remained a loner, other than occasionally spending time with Cana. But it wasn’t  _ his _ fault all the other kids were so weird and unlikeable. Maybe this one would be different. 

“Yeah, I wanna go,” he said. 

“No fair, I wanted to go!” Cana shouted. 

“I’ll bring you tomorrow, dear,” Makarov assured her. “And with any luck, Natsu will be ready to come to the guild soon enough that you all won’t have to wait for turns. But you do have to remember not to crowd him, and to keep your voices low when he eventually comes. His senses are a lot better than yours, okay?” 

“Okay!” everyone chorused, with Erza shouting out a “Yes, sir!” 

“Right then, come along, Gray,” Makarov said, gesturing towards the door. “Let’s head out to Porlyusica’s.” 

* * *

“Ouch!” Natsu yelped, trying to jerk away for Porlyusica. “That hurts!” 

“I warned you it would,” she refuted. “But, if you hate it so much, we can always just cut all of it off.” 

“No! No, I don’t want that,” he hurried to assure her. 

“Right then. Hold still,” she said. 

Natsu bit back another whine as she tugged at his hair again, digging her comb through all the knots. He was half surprised that she hadn’t just dragged him into the sink yet, considering the way she yanked at his hair. 

At first, he’d been a little excited for her to wash his hair. Gildarts had tried, but hadn’t made much progress, but Porlyusica seemed much more confident she could actually do something about it. She’d had him lay down on her counter, with his head leaned over her sink so she could scrub at it. 

But at this point, Natsu didn’t even think she was going to have to cut it. She’d just rip it all out! 

He bit his tongue to keep from crying out as she gave it another vicious tug.

“If you’d washed your hair, this wouldn’t have happened,” she scolded. 

“But I don’t like it!” he argued. He had better things to do, not to mention he didn’t like being  _ wet, _ getting all soggy and cold. Sure, he could use his fire to dry off almost immediately, but it was still terrible. 

“God, I’m surprised you don’t already have fleas or something similar,” Porlyusica said. “Is this old  _ blood _ in your hair?” she demanded with a glare. 

He shrugged. “Yeah, probably. It gets all over me when I hunt sometimes.” 

She rolled your eyes. “You’d think with that nose of yours, you’d hate letting yourself get to this state.” 

Natsu growled, deep in his chest. 

“Hey now,” Porlyusica scolded. “It’s your own fault that you’ve ended up this way. And you can’t just go around growling at people. Use your words.” 

He nearly growled again, but just barely bit it down. Why the hell should he use his words, when a growl or a snarl communicated what he was feeling just fine? 

“People aren’t going to understand that as well as you probably think they will,” she continued. “You’ll have to use words to tell them what you mean. I’m not saying you can never make other noises, just that you can’t expect everyone to know what you’re trying to tell them.” 

“I’m going back to the woods,” he grumbled. Sure, he might have been hungrier, and maybe it was scary to sleep out there without anyone to watch him, but at least there weren’t all these stupid rules and  _ human _ things to worry about. 

“You are not, Natsu,” she said. “Now relax, I’m going to rinse your hair again.” 

* * *

As soon as Gray heard the shouting coming from inside Porlyusica’s cabin, he thought he might have made a mistake. Especially considering most of the noise  _ wasn’t _ coming from Porlyusica. 

Makarov frowned, hesitating only a moment, before opening the door of the cabin. “Porlyusica, I’ve brought Gray by to meet Natsu.” 

“Now is not the  _ best _ time, Makarov,” Porlyusica forced out through gritted teeth. “We’re kind of in the middle of something.” 

Makarov glanced around the cabin. “Where is Natsu?” 

The healer sighed, and gestured to the extra bed she kept in the corner for patients. “He’s hiding beneath the bed over there. And he  _ needs _ to come out, because you have visitors now, Natsu!” 

“No!” he shouted. “You’re just gonna cut my hair!” 

Porlyusica sighed. “I am not, Natsu! If it really bothers you so much, I’ll leave it alone for now.” 

_ “No!”  _ he shouted again. 

Gray scowled. Was he really throwing this much of a tantrum over a  _ haircut?  _

“What happened?” Makarov asked. 

The healer grumbled something under her breath, then said, “I couldn’t completely salvage his hair, so I told him we were going to cut it. I admit, I probably pushed too hard too fast, but that doesn’t mean he can hide beneath the bed forever.” 

Gray glanced back towards the bed. The gap beneath it was nowhere near large enough for Porlyusica to get under, and the bed was large enough it’d be a hassle to move, so unless Natsu decided to come out of his own volition, he likely would be staying there. 

_ Well, _ Gray could fit under there just fine, and he’d walked all the way out here to meet this boy. And even if he was throwing a fit, Gray wasn’t just going to leave. So while Porlyusica and Makarov were distracted with each other, he walked over to the bed, and wriggled his way underneath it.

Gray glanced around, brushing aside dust bunnies, but he didn’t see anyone else. Just a few boxes, but then he noticed Natsu peeking over the top of the box with blankets spilling out of it. His eyes almost glowed in the shadows, and those slit pupils tracked Gray’s every movement. It was a little unnerving, but more cool than anything. However, Gray wasn’t going to let that stop him from speaking his mind. “You’re a little coward if you get this scared over a haircut.” 

Those cat-like eyes widened, and before Gray even realized what was happening, the box toppled over, and a flaming fist slammed into his cheek. “Shut up!” 

Gray jerked back with a grunt, and instinctively tried to force himself up, but he banged his head on the bottom of the bed. “The hell is your  _ problem!?” _ he demanded, rubbing the sore spot on his cheek, letting frost form on his fingers to cool the burn that had been left behind, and soothe the already forming bruise. 

“Gray!” Porlyusica kneeled down next to the bed. “Get out from under there!” 

Gray bared his teeth. Like  _ hell _ he was, until he got in at least one good hit of his own on this boy. 

Natsu crouched down, almost like an animal ready to pounce, though it wasn’t like he could actually get up considering where they were. His teeth were bared, revealing that quite a few of them were much too big and much too sharp to belong to a  _ normal _ person, and Gray briefly wondered what exactly Makarov  _ hadn’t _ told them about Natsu. 

Except he didn’t care that much, and just as Porlyusica reached to drag him out by his ankle, Gray lunged, and landed his own hit across the other boy’s jaw, leaving Natsu to tumble back. 

“Gray! Stop it!” the healer scolded. “Now!” 

“He hit me first!” he snapped, already going for another hit. 

Natsu snarled, trying for another blow himself. 

But Porlyusica finally managed to grab Gray by the foot, and yanked him out from underneath the bed before either one of them managed to inflict anymore hurt on the other, though Gray did wince as he got some nasty floor burn and whacked his head against the bed frame on the way out. “Let me go!” he shouted, trying to kick and squirm his way out of her grip. “I’m gonna kill him!” 

“Gray…” Makarov sighed, shaking his head. 

Another angry, feral snarl sounded from beneath the bed. 

_ “Natsu,” _ Porlyusica snapped. “What did I tell you earlier about using your words?” 

Sullen silence followed, but at least the growling stopped. 

Gray finally kicked his way out of Porlyusica’s grasp, but he didn’t try to crawl beneath the bed again, just resigned himself to sitting up straight and rubbing at his sore cheek. “He hit me first,” he repeated. 

“I’m sure he did,” Porlyusica said, standing back to her full height. “I’m not doubting you on that. But you forced your way into his space without an invitation.” 

“What the hell does that mean?” he demanded. Natsu didn’t  _ own _ the space beneath Porlyusica’s extra bed, and it wasn’t like Gray had gotten up in his face or anything. 

The healer sighed and glared at Makarov. “Did you tell them  _ anything _ about Natsu and his magic?” 

“I didn’t figure it was that important!” he protested. “I figured Natsu could tell them himself.” 

“God, you  _ never _ listen, you stupid bastard,” she growled. “I  _ told _ you he is going to think and react differently to certain things. And the other children need to be warned about that so this kind of thing  _ doesn’t happen.” _

Makarov rolled his eyes, but wisely didn’t argue with the woman. 

“Now, Gray,” Porlyusica turned her attention back to him. “I’m not saying it was okay for Natsu to hit you, especially because you didn’t know about this.  _ Understand, _ Natsu?” She turned her glare towards the bed. 

Natsu made a quiet noise of confirmation. 

“But,” she continued. “Beneath that bed is Natsu’s space right now. That’s where he sleeps, and where he goes when he’s feeling too overwhelmed. No one else is allowed there unless  _ he _ gives them permission, which you didn’t ask for.” 

“That’s stupid,” Gray muttered. 

“Maybe to you,” she said. “But Natsu is different from you, and you need to understand that.” 

“Different,” he repeated, finally letting his hand fall away from his cheek. 

“He’s something called a dragon slayer,” she said. “And… for lack of being able to explain it any better to you, he is basically partly dragon. So yes, he will be different.” 

Gray’s eyes widened, and he glanced back to the bed, where he could barely see Natsu watching them. At least that explained the weird eyes and teeth. “Sorry, I didn’t know.” 

“Yes, well, now you do. If you’re not sure if something is okay, just ask him,” she said. “And if he does anything  _ you _ don’t like or that makes you uncomfortable, tell him.” 

Gray nodded. 

“Good.” The healer kneeled down for a better look at Natsu. “Did you get all that, Natsu? Like I told you earlier, you can’t just expect everyone to already know these things. I know that’s hard for you to understand, but you need to try, okay?” 

“Okay…” he mumbled. 

“Alright.” Porlyusica got back to her feet, hauling Gray up next, forcing him to tear his gaze away from Natsu. “I’ll give you something for that burn, and then I think you better go back, Gray. We’ll give this a try another time.” 

“Whatever.” Even if he understood that Natsu was  _ different, _ nothing that had just happened was really  _ his _ fault. Natsu was the one who had messed this up, not him. 

While Porlyusica applied some kind of cool paste to his cheek, Gray kept his eye on the bed, perking up when Natsu finally crawled out from underneath it, even if he didn’t come any closer. He just stared at him, with those eerie eyes. 

“Right, there we go, all done,” Porlyuisca said. “Now go away, and leave me to calm down an upset dragon.” 

Makarov rolled his eyes, but told Gray to hurry up. 

He shot Natsu one more look as they left, and smirked as Porlyusica already started to scold him and told him if everyone else was expected to learn dragon things, he had to be bothered to learn human things. 

Gray bet he could learn the dragon things before Natsu learned the human things. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, Porlyusica does not like people, but I do think she has a soft spot for children, especially dragon children


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And once again, I'm already back! Honestly I'm having such a fun time with this, and all the lovely comments and responses you guys have been leaving always encourage me to start a new chapter a little bit sooner than I intend :D

It had taken Porlyusica the entire rest of the day to earn back Natsu’s trust. He’d spent most of the day under the bed, sleeping and rearranging his box, blankets, and pillows into something more resembling some kind of den. For the most part, when Porlyusica attempted to speak with him, if he answered at all, it was only with a growl or a snarl. 

It didn’t bother her too much. After all, he was basically a wild, baby dragon. She was surprised he’d so readily trusted her in the first place, and it was her own fault for pushing too hard. 

Gray certainly hadn’t helped matters, and though she definitely didn’t want to condone Natsu attacking him, it was like getting mad at a dog for chasing cats. Sure, you might want to, but it wouldn’t help, it wasn’t fair to the dog, and it would do nothing to prevent it from happening again. Hell, beyond keeping the dogs and cats separated, there  _ was _ no way to keep it from happening again. But Gray and Natsu weren’t dogs and cats, and if Natsu was truly going to be joining the guild, he couldn’t just be kept separate from Gray anyways. 

However, all of the children— Who was Porlyusica kidding. Every goddamn member of Makarov’s guild was going to have to be sat down, and told how they needed to interact with Natsu, and informed that his territory was going to be respected, otherwise any injuries they received were justified and their own damn fault. 

She’d also have to have a discussion with Makarov about Natsu’s living arrangements. She knew all the children were staying in the dorms, and she also knew that they shared rooms. But that wasn’t going to work for Natsu. He needed his own space, and wouldn’t function well without it. Unless he  _ very _ quickly latched onto someone and decided they were family, he would not tolerate them in his den. And, of course, as he got older and bigger, the space beneath Porlyusica’s bed was  _ not _ going to suffice. Plus, as much as she sympathized with him, Porylusica did not want to share her space with Natsu for any longer than was necessary. 

God, now that she was thinking about it, she couldn’t even imagine the hell they would all be going through when Natsu went through puberty, between his gender confusion and the almost guaranteed dragon complications. She hadn’t forgotten Natsu mentioning it was only his  _ first _ set of fangs currently growing in as he lost his teeth. 

But she sighed and shook her head. Those were problems for a couple years down the road. And Natsu  _ should _ be as well adjusted as he would ever get to regular humans by then, which should make it a little easier. 

“Natsu, I’m leaving your dinner right here.” She placed the plate of food down next to the bed.  _ Without _ any silverware. It had been a stressful day for him, and she could let him be as feral as he wanted for tonight. “Do make sure you eat all of it.” 

That  _ was _ one thing she was glad she didn’t have to worry about. It seemed Natsu was always hungry, and a good thing, too. He was  _ severely _ underweight due to being alone for so long, but as long as he kept eating this much, he’d be back up to a healthy weight in no time. 

Unlike at lunch, Natsu didn’t immediately snatch the plate and scarf it down in his hiding spot. He crept out from under the bed, though he didn’t venture far from it, and kept a wary eye on Porlyusica as he dug into his dinner. 

“Will you be okay for Makarov to bring someone else by tomorrow?” she asked. She wanted Natsu to get used to the other children as quickly as possible, but the last thing she wanted was a repeat of today, and to create an even larger gap between him and the others. “We’ll make sure they know not to go into your den.” 

Natsu stilled, an almost  _ sad _ look coming over his face, before he muttered, “He didn’t like me…” 

Porlyusica sighed. “Gray doesn’t seem to like anyone, and I’m not quite sure why Makarov thought he would be a good one to introduce to you first.” She knew her old friend was worried about the other boy, and truth be told, she was, too. It’d been several months since he’d joined the guild, and he had yet to form a decent relationship with a single person in it. After the chilling reality of Erza’s past, Porlyuisca hadn’t thought she’d meet another child with as many underlying mental issues as her, but Gray was certainly fighting to overtake her. Of course, the healer didn’t hold that against him, especially considering everything he’d gone through, but that didn’t change the fact that Gray seemed bound determined _not_ to accept help or even  _ companionship _ from anyone. “Don’t let him bother you too much.” 

Natsu set his plate off to the side, the food having been devoured in just a few moments, and maneuvered his way back beneath the bed. Porlyusica got back up, not expecting to see him again for the rest of the night, but before she could even pick his plate up, he’d come out in the open again, with a piece of cloth gripped tightly in one fist. “He left this.” 

“Gray did?” She held her hand out, realizing it was the boy’s shirt. It seemed even she’d already grown so used to Gray’s strange, subconscious stripping habit that she hadn’t even noticed he’d arrived with a shirt and left without one. Though she was  _ extremely _ surprised that not only had Natsu found it at some point, but had brought it back into his den. The healer figured he’d be doing everything he could to get Gray’s scent out of his makeshift home, not bringing in items that would make it stronger.

But as soon as she reached her hand out, Natsu yanked the shirt back, holding it close to his chest. “I wanna keep it.” 

She raised an eyebrow. “You really should give it back to him.” He had to be running low enough on clothes as it was. 

Natsu shook his head. “No, I wanna keep it.” 

“Why?” 

“Smells good,” he muttered. “I like it. I don’t wanna give it back.” He shoved the shirt back beneath the bed, very obviously wanting to prevent Porlyusica from attempting to take it, not that she would do such a thing. “It’s mine now.” 

“Smells good?” she repeated, trying to piece together what that meant. “You think Gray smells good?” 

He nodded. “Smells nice…  _ right.”  _

“You can keep the shirt,” she said. If need be, she’d buy Gray a new one herself, though it was likely Natsu would lose interest in it once the other boy’s scent faded. 

His eyes lit up, a happy rumble Porlyusica wanted to describe as a purr coming from his chest. 

She reached out to pat his head, carefully avoiding the matts that unfortunately weren’t going to get cut out anytime soon. “Good. Now, will you be okay with Makarov bringing by someone new tomorrow?” 

Though he hesitated, he nodded. 

“Alright then.” Porlyusica turned away from him. “I’m going to do some reading.” She’d already been sent some more books on dragon slayers from the libraries she’d contacted. “You can go back to your den, or play, so long as you are careful of my herbs.” 

Natsu opened his mouth, like he wanted to say something, but he turned his head away and nodded again instead. 

“What?” 

“I…” He fidgeted with the end of his scarf. “Can I lay on you?” 

Quite honestly, Porlyusica did not want an exceptionally warm, likely squirmy child on her lap while she tried to read, but even normal children required physical touch, and dragons were even  _ more _ tactile. She suspected Natsu not being used to her was the only reason he hadn’t tried cuddling with her or something similar before now. “That’s fine,” she reluctantly agreed. 

Natsu grinned, and bounded after her as she walked to the couch. 

* * *

“So, what’s the new kid like?” Cana asked as she took a seat across from Gray. 

“Weird,” he answered. Very weird. Extremely weird. So weird Gray couldn’t even explain him beyond simply saying he was  _ weird. _ “He hit me.” 

“Well I heard Gildarts say he bit him when they first met so maybe he’s just mean.” She sounded mildly disappointed by the prospect, but more curious than anything else. 

“Nah.” Gray shook his head. “I don’t think so. Porlyusica said he was part dragon. And dragons don’t like people, right?” 

“I don’t know shit about dragons, Gray,” Cana said with an eye roll. “No one does.” 

“You don’t even care that he’s part dragon?” he asked. She’d been pestering him all day for information about Natsu, along with all the other children, and he was only answering her questions now because she’d finally approached him alone, without Mirajane trailing along after her, as she had been ever since they’d started dating. 

“Nah,” she said with a shrug. “I was just wondering if he was fun.” 

“I dunno, I was only there for a few minutes, and all I did was piss him off.” Thought Gray still refused to admit that  _ any _ of it had been his fault. 

“You piss everyone off,” she said. “Even Elfman and Lisanna complain about you sometimes, and I’ve never heard them complain about anyone.” 

Gray glared at her. “Shut up.” He’d start being nice to people when they proved they deserved it, and so far, not a single person had done that since Ur. 

“Well, whatever.” She pushed herself up from the table. “I just wanted to know how it went, especially because you were back so soon. But, if you two started beating each other to hell, I guess it went about as well as it could have for you.” 

Gray’s scowl intensified, and sometimes he wondered why he actually put up with Cana. Maybe because she was the only person who was ever mean back to him. Because as scary as Erza and Mirajane could be at times, they never really got snappy like Cana did. They just threatened to kill him. 

“He probably hates you already,” she continued. 

For some reason, the idea that Natsu hated him left a terrible, uncomfortable feeling in Gray’s chest, some strange mix of guilt and regret. “I’m gonna make him like me,” he muttered, the words shocking him just as much as they shocked Cana, if her widening eyes were any indication. 

“You’re gonna what?” she demanded. 

“I’m gonna make him like me!” he shouted, slamming his hands down on the table and forcing himself up. “I’m gonna learn all about dragons, so I can get him to like me,  _ before _ any of you do it!” 

Cana snorted with laughter, a smile Gray didn’t think he liked spreading across her face. “Whatever you say, Gray.” 

* * *

“I thought you said you were bringing Cana today,” Porlyusica said. 

“I was, originally,” Makarov replied. “She asked first, but after the… mess yesterday, I decided to bring Lisanna instead. I thought she would… be a good choice.” 

Natsu tuned them out, focusing all his attention on the little girl standing in front of him. She’d tried greeting him, waving and saying hello, but he hadn’t responded. He was too busy taking her in, and how was he supposed to just  _ address  _ her without smelling her first? But he wasn’t sure if it was alright to get close enough for that. 

“Miss Porlyusica, he won’t talk to me,” Lisanna said quietly, not taking her wide, blue eyes off of him. 

“Let him smell you, dear,” she said. 

“Huh?” 

“He wants to smell you, but he’s probably waiting on you to tell him it’s okay, since I told him he needed to wait for permission to get too close to people,” she said. 

Natsu nodded in agreement. Honestly, the no getting close to someone without their permission rule had confused Natsu the most out of everything so far. Because  _ how _ were humans sniffing each other when they met for the first time without getting close? It didn’t make any sense! 

“Oh! Oh, okay then.” Lisanna smiled, and motioned for him to come closer. “You can come sniff me, Natsu.” 

He surged forward, grabbing her so suddenly that she squeaked, and taking in a deep breath through his nose. 

She didn’t smell nearly as good as Gray had (and Natsu still regretted not actually getting the chance to smell him, and hitting him, though he wasn’t ever going to admit it), but her scent was still very nice. Made up of layers and layers of different scents, many different animals swirling together, overtaken to a sweet, calming smell. It made Natsu relax just being near her. 

“Oh!” Lisanna reached out to pet his hair. “You’re very sweet, Natsu.”

Natsu had never met someone so close to his own age (other than his few moments with Gray, of course), and he wondered if she liked to do the kinds of things he did, play games that Igneel had just never been interested in, as much as he might have pretended at times. Would this Lisanna actually play with him? 

“Wanna go outside?” he asked. Porlyusica didn’t like it when he ran and climbed and used his fire inside her house. 

“Miss Porlyusica, can we go outside?” Lisanna asked. 

“If it means you won’t destroy my furniture and plants,” she said. “Besides, I need to talk to Makarov about some things.” 

Natsu grinned, and grabbed Lisanna’s hand, yanking her towards the door. 

* * *

“He did  _ what _ with Gray?” Makarov demanded. 

Porlyusica sighed, and stepped away from the window, relatively sure that Lisanna and Natsu had already adjusted very well to one another and weren’t rocketing towards another misunderstanding. “Like I said, I’m not  _ positive, _ but I think it’s very likely that Natsu latched onto Gray, in a more intense way than normal. I’m not entirely sure why him, but it does mean Natsu is going to be very… attached to him.” 

“This has something to do with his dragon side?” he asked. 

_ “Obviously _ it has something to do with his dragon side, Makarov!” Porlyusica snapped. “Normal human children don’t hoard their friend’s clothes in their beds because they like their scent!” She pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. “Honestly…” 

“Well it’s not like there is an abundance of information on dragon slayers! I was at my wit’s end after just a couple minutes of dealing with him,” Makarov admitted. 

Porlyusica really couldn’t argue with him about that. Most of the books she’d received on dragon slayers only contained the same regurgitated information, or were just blatantly incorrect. 

“So if you wouldn’t mind explaining a little better what that actually means,” he requested. 

The healer sat down at the table, and motioned for Makarov to do the same. Natsu and Lisanna were too busy chasing each other around in the backyard to even think about coming inside. 

“Contrary to what most people would think, especially when comparing them to other reptiles, dragons are  _ extremely _ social,” she began. “They don’t cope well when they’re completely alone, and it was very common to find them in groups, or at the least, small family units or pairs. I suspect part of Natsu’s issues are that he’s still recovering from being alone so long. That would be extremely tough on any child, but especially one that functions as a dragon.” 

Makarov nodded. 

“Dragons are also extremely territorial, but that goes beyond just their homes. It extends to  _ all _ of their possessions, and the dragons they care about, though in Natsu’s case, it will be people instead.” 

Makarov’s eyes widened as he realized where she was going. “Porlyusica, if he got upset enough to attack Gray over going into his home, I can’t have him attacking anyone who gets too close to these people he tries to  _ claim.” _

She shook her head. “He shouldn’t do that. At least, not unless he thinks someone is trying to  _ take _ them away from him, but considering the way people interact with each other, that shouldn’t be a problem at all. What Natsu will do is try to get people to smell like him, likely by laying on them, rubbing against them like a cat, or possibly giving them his clothes.  _ If _ the urge to claim someone gets strong enough, he may try and bite them or something similar, as a way to mark them as his. But we should pick up that he’s getting close enough to someone for that far before then, and warn them about it. Because this is an instinctual thing for Natsu. We can’t just tell him he can’t do it. Not only will it be practically impossible for him to understand, but it will confuse and hurt him.” She took a sip of her tea, and leaned back in her chair for another quick glance out the window, just in time to see Lisanna pounce on top of Natsu, in her cat takeover form, and for the two of them to start rolling around on the ground. “Now…” She turned back to Makarov. “For the time being, he is young enough that it won’t extend beyond the innocent want for friendship, or possibly puppy love, but as he gets older, we will need to make sure he’s not becoming too possessive, because then it will start to affect other people negatively, and at that point, Natsu’s comfort can’t be more important than that.” 

“Are you referring to romantic relationships?” Makarov asked, already looking pained. “Cana and Mira are enough to deal with in that department. Mira has come crying to me three times this week about breakups, and they’ll be back together an hour later!” 

Porlyusica scoffed. “You signed up for children, and that includes helping them figure out romance and sexuality, you old buffoon. And yes, it could be romantic relationships, but it could just as easily happen with platonic or familial bonds as well. Dragons  _ are _ possessive, there’s nothing we can do about that. We just need to toe the fine line between letting Natsu be possessive enough that he’s comfortable, without it getting intense enough that he’s hurting other people or the people he’s claimed as his. Like I said, it shouldn’t be as big of a deal  _ now, _ but a couple years down the road we’re going to have to be very vigilant.” 

“But you’re saying he’s already done this with Gray,” he pointed out. 

Porlyusica nodded. “I believe so, yes. For some reason, there was something about Gray he really liked. I doubt he could tell us what, even if we asked. I admit, I didn’t expect that. I had  _ been _ expecting the first person he got attached to like that to be me, or possibly even Gildarts, as a… type of parental figure. I realize that’s rather dumb on my part now, though, because he’s not  _ looking _ for a parental figure. He completely believes his father is still out there, so he doesn’t  _ want _ a new parent. What he wants, are friends. And, like I said, for some godforsaken reason, he’s already latched onto Gray. Though at this rate, Lisanna won’t be far behind. The issue with Gray is that he probably won’t  _ want _ a deep bond like that with Natsu.” 

“No…” Makarov agreed, his voice sullen. “Gray doesn’t seem to be interested in friends at all. Let alone  _ dragon _ friendship.” 

Porlyusica nodded. “Right. And I don’t want to see Natsu hurt and his progress hindered because Gray continually rejects him. I have half a mind to speak to Gray about it, and explain this in terms he’ll understand, but I’m worried that will only turn him off of the idea of spreading time with Natsu even more.” 

“Yes, Gray doesn’t do well with being forced into things,” he said. 

“For now, I think we should leave it,” Porlyusica said. “Give Gray the benefit of the doubt, and hope, that for both their sakes, he decides he wants to let other people into his life. Besides, now that Natsu is meeting other children, he might not even focus as much on Gray specifically. Especially considering how much he seems to like Lisanna already. But we’ll have to interfere if it starts going poorly between them. Natsu could end up devastated, and Gray could lose his chance for a very good, loyal, lifelong friend, which is something he desperately needs right now.” 

“I know. No matter what I do, or what any of the other children try to do to connect with him, he’s just not having it,” he said. “Even Erza’s bullheadedness is getting her nowhere with him, and I think she’s the most determined out of all of us to get him to like her.” 

“Well…” Porlyusica smiled. “She’s going to have a dragon to compete with now.” 

* * *

Makarov ended up leaving Lisanna with Porlyusica and Natsu for the day, at the little girl’s request and Porlyusica’s reluctant agreement to bring her back to the guildhall later that evening. Though she did  _ not _ want to venture into Magnolia, let alone the Fairy Tail guildhall, the healer could admit it might be worth it, just to let Natsu relax and have some fun. She hadn’t seen him smile so much since he’d first arrived. Every time Lisanna so much as looked at him, he beamed. 

She supposed it wasn’t surprising. If any of the children were going to connect so quickly with Natsu, it would be the one who understood the souls of animals on a fundamental level. Lisanna certainly had a leg up on deciphering and getting used to Natsu’s odd habits. Hell, when she was in her takeover forms, she had some of the same habits herself. It might have been a stroke of genius for Makarov to introduce them so early, though he probably hadn’t thought about it any deeper than the fact that Lisanna was always very kind and understanding. 

Both Natsu and Lisanna had whined with disappointment when Porlyusica said it was time to take Lisanna back home. She’d never  _ seen _ Natsu look so dejected, his shoulders slumping, tears pooling in his eyes, and his bottom lip poking out in a pout. 

“Can I please stay a little longer, Miss Porlyusica?” Lisanna requested, clasping her hands together and giving the healer the best puppy-dog eyes she could manage. “Or—Or can Natsu at least walk back with us?” 

Natsu perked up at that, and nodded so vigorously his hair flounced up and down. “Can I? Can I, Porlyusica?” He grabbed onto her cloak, giving it a little tug. “Please?” 

Porlyusica could admit, she didn’t like the idea of leaving Natsu here alone while she took Lisanna back, and he was going to have to go back into town eventually if he was ever going to get used to it. “I suppose, since you remembered to say please.” 

“Yes!” Lisanna exclaimed, bouncing up and down. “I can show you the guildhall, Natsu! And introduce you to my brother and sister!” She grabbed his hand, eliciting a purr from the dragon slayer. “It’ll be so fun!” 

Porlyusica didn’t bother to warn her that Natsu would likely get overwhelmed very quickly, especially inside the guildhall, and if all the other children crowded him which was extremely likely. Maybe if Natsu got excited enough, it would distract him from focusing too much on his surroundings and overloading his senses. 

“Come on! Let’s go!” She tugged him out the door, and began marching down the path to Magnolia. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do headcanon that Gray was one of the most difficult kids to integrate into the guild, considering everything that happened to him, but... Natsu is going to be infinitely more difficult for him to ward off by being prickly and mean than most people 
> 
> Also, yay! Next chapter is Natsu visiting the guild and meeting everyone else!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... wasn't expecting this chapter to get as angsty as it did, but... well... whoops

Sure, Gray knew that Lisanna’s introduction had to have gone better than his had. She was  _ Lisanna. _ She got along with  _ everybody. _ Plus, Makarov hadn’t immediately dragged her back, and had actually left her to spend the whole day with Porlyusica and Natsu. So yeah, Gray knew that she already got along better with the dragon slayer than he did. 

But he hadn’t expected her to guide Natsu into the guildhall, holding his hand and smiling at him. 

As soon as they came inside, despite Porlyusica warning them not to, Erza, Mirajane, Elfman, and Levy all crowded around Natsu, asking questions and introducing themselves. Natsu clung tighter to Lisanna, an uncomfortable whine building his throat, and Porlyusica got firmer with the other kids, telling them to back away, and talk one at a time. Lisanna pet Natsu’s hair, and quietly told him who everyone was. 

“Ha, looks like you messed up your chance,” Cana said as she slung her arm over Gray’s shoulders. “Lisanna beat you to it.” 

“Get off me!” he snapped, shaking her off. 

“You’re in a bad mood.” She grinned, her gaze drifting over to Natsu and Lisanna for a moment. “Are you  _ jealous?” _

“Of  _ what?” _ he demanded. 

She snorted and shook her head. “Oh, all your talk about being friends with him first? Looks like you missed out on that. And you’re  _ jealous. _ You  _ like _ him.” 

“Wha—” He glared at her. “What the hell are you talking about?” 

“Is that why you hit him?” she asked. “Seems like the kinda thing you would do if you liked someone. I guess he’s kinda cute, if it weren’t for his fucked up hair.” 

“He hit me first!” he argued. Sure, Gray had forced his way uninvited into his home, and then insulted him, but Natsu was the one who had gotten violent. 

Cana completely ignored him. “Well whatever, it’s not like it matters now, because it looks like he  _ really _ likes Lisanna, and you wasted your chance to get to know him.” 

Gray grit his teeth. “Shut up, Cana.” Why was she so invested in this? Hell, why did Gray even care that she cared? Why did he care about Natsu  _ at all? _ He was just another brat he was going to have to put up with, right? 

He didn’t care about him! He didn’t! Even his desire to befriend him first didn’t have anything to do with the fact that Gray  _ liked _ him. Because he didn’t! He just wanted to prove that he  _ could _ befriend someone if he wanted to, and prove Cana wrong. 

Yeah, yeah, that’s exactly what it was. But… that didn’t explain why he  _ did _ dislike the fact that Lisanna got to spend all day with Natsu, have actual conversations with him, hold his hand and be the one to introduce him to everyone and show him around the guildhall, under Porlyusica’s watchful eye, of course, with everyone else following a few feet behind, chiming in every once in a while. 

“Well.” Cana put her hands on her hips and spun around.  _ “I’m _ going to go say hello and introduce myself.  _ You _ can just stand here glaring at them and looking pissed off. Have fun.” She marched over, and began to introduce herself, before Porlyusica nudged her back, though Cana didn’t mind. She just kept on chattering. 

Gray gnawed at his lip, and turned away from the little group. If Natsu really did get overwhelmed by lots of people, Gray doubted the last thing he would want would be one more person breathing down his neck. Besides… Cana was probably right. All Gray had done was make Natsu upset. Why  _ would _ he want anything to do with him? 

He sat down at the closest table and laid his head down on it. 

He just didn’t understand why he  _ cared. _ Cana was the only one who actually liked him here, and sometimes he thought even she might just be pretending, and he didn’t think he cared about that, so why did he want Natsu to like him? 

If he’d wanted Natsu to like him, why had he gone out of his way to be an ass? 

“You shouldn’t just sit here and sulk, you know.” 

Gray groaned and placed his arms over his head. He hadn’t even noticed Erza sit down. And why was she here bothering him instead of hanging out with everyone else anyways? “Go away, Erza.” 

“Nuh uh.” She poked at his head. “You want to be friends with Natsu. So go talk to him.” 

“I  _ don’t,” _ he growled. 

She scoffed. “That’s not what you told Cana.” 

Gray lifted his head up to glare at her.  _ Of course _ Cana hadn’t kept her stupid mouth shut and had told everyone about that. God, why did he ever tell her anything? “Why do you care?” 

“Because I want to be your friend too, you know,” she said with a shrug. “And now I want to be Natsu’s friend, so if you become his friend, I can just be friends with you both.” 

“That makes no sense.” 

Erza reached out to yank at his hair. 

“Ouch!” He slapped her hand away. 

“Go talk to him,” she said with a glare. “And if you don’t, I’ll drag you over there and  _ make _ you. Miss Porlyusica said they’re not staying long, so you better get on it quick.” She got back up, and rejoined the little group, that was now showing Natsu the bar and how to order food. The dragon slayer’s eyes practically lit up at all the different kinds they could get. 

Gray huffed and turned away again. Natsu already had friends: Lisanna and everyone else. He wouldn’t want Gray, when he had them. Because why the hell would he? 

He got up and slunk off. Erza couldn’t force him to say hi if she couldn’t find him. 

* * *

Natsu was practically drooling as the plate of food was set down in front of him. He’d been so distracted by Lisanna all day that he’d forgotten to eat, and now he learned that this place could make  _ all kinds _ of food. And fast, too! He reached out to grab a handful, but Porlyusica cleared her throat, and he reluctantly picked up the fork instead. 

“So, Natsu, you’re gonna join the guild, right?” the redhead girl, Erza, asked. 

“Dunno,” he mumbled around his food. Lisanna had mentioned that a couple times today, too, and Gildarts had explained what a guild was to him on their little trip, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to join. Sure, it seemed nice enough, especially with all this food, but he needed to go find Igneel. He was sure his dad was really worried, considering how long Natsu had already been missing. He hoped his dad was okay… 

Natsu dropped the fork, shaking his head, and it was like the world had gotten so much  _ louder. _ Too many heartbeats to count, heavy breaths in the air, so many snippets of conversations he couldn’t actually understand a single word of. The lights were too bright, like looking directly into the sun, causing him to screw his eyes shut and slide out of his seat, curling up beneath the table. 

The chatter only got louder and louder, the heartbeats like thunder in his ears. 

And the  _ smells. _ He held his hands over his nose, desperately trying to block them out, but it did very little to help. There were so many new people, so many new things, writhing around and demanding his attention, but he couldn’t—He didn’t—

He felt hands trying to grab him, and he instinctively snapped his teeth and swiped his nails. The hands disappeared, but only for a moment before they were trying again, and this time, he breathed a spurt of flame to ward them off. 

He just wanted  _ out _ of here. It was too loud, too bright, just too much. Too much.  _ Too much.  _

Something soft and warm was draped over him, smelling very strongly of Porlyusica. He whimpered, and grabbed at the fabric, pressing it to his face to help smother everything out. 

This time, he let himself be picked up, going limp in the person’s grasp. He tried to pretend it was Igneel, gently picking him up by the back of his shirt with his jaws, carrying him back to their cave, back  _ home. _ But of course it wasn’t. It was a person, who had wrapped him in Porlyusica’s cloak. 

He just wanted to see his dad. To go home. 

To go home… 

* * *

Quite honestly, Porlyusica had expected a meltdown of some kind. Sure, Natsu had been doing extremely well at first, if a little twitchy. With Lisanna to fall back on, he’d introduced himself to everyone, and they all took turns letting him sniff at them after Lisanna told them they needed to let him do that. 

But she hadn’t expected him to  _ completely _ fall apart. He’d been perfectly fine, smiling and conversing with the other children, before he’d completely collapsed, whining and crying out, none of the noises even  _ remotely _ human, a young dragon calling out for their parent, before lashing out at anyone who had tried to pull him out from underneath the table. 

The other children began to panic, demanding to know what was wrong and what they could do, which caused Porlyusica to snap at them to  _ shut up and go away, and Makarov, come take care of your damn kids!  _ Her friend had already been rushing over due to the commotion, and thankfully followed her instructions without any hassle, guiding the other kids out of the way, though Lisanna protested heavily. 

Assuming a sensory overload might have  _ something _ to do with his sudden come apart, she whipped her cloak off and draped it over him, which seemed to help at least a little. At the very least, he stopped spitting fire at any unlucky soul who got too close. 

“Gildarts.” The healer motioned for him to come closer. “Pick him up and take him upstairs. Sit with him until I get there, but don’t take the cloak off.” From what little she had observed, Natsu seemed to like Gildarts. At the least, he was used to him, and hopefully that would prevent him from freaking out anymore until Porlyusica could take him home and get him calmed down. 

The man grumbled, “I better not actually lose a finger this time,” but he obliged, ever so gently picking up the little dragon slayer, making sure he was snuggly wrapped in her cloak, and rushed upstairs as quickly as he could without actually running. 

Even from upstairs, Porlyusica could still faintly hear Natsu’s miserable cries. 

The older guild members scrambled out of her way and pretended they hadn’t been staring at the commotion as she marched over to the table where Makarov had seated all the other kids. 

“Miss Porlyusica, we didn’t mean to upset him!” Elfman exclaimed as soon as he realized she was approaching, likely thinking they were about to get the scolding of a lifetime. “Were we too close? Did we—” 

“Hush, Elfman.” She waved her hand. “None of you did anything wrong.” Though she did suspect Erza’s question about Natsu joining the guild might have something to do with his sudden breakdown. “Natsu is just…” She sighed. “I’m sure Makarov has told you about his magic, and that it heightens his senses, correct?” 

They all nodded. 

“He likely just got a little overwhelmed. He’s just not used to so many people and so much noise,” she said. 

“Well what are we supposed to do?” Mirajane demanded. “We can’t just never talk!” 

Porlyusica shook her head. “It’s not just your voices. He can hear every breath, every heartbeat, maybe even from people  _ outside _ the guildhall. Never mind all your scents, which his mind would have been trying to process. He is going to need  _ time.” _

“I didn’t know, Miss Porlyusica!” Lisanna cried, reaching up to scrub at the tears dripping down her face. “I didn’t know bringing him here would make him so upset! I just wanted to stay with him longer!”

“I know, dear,” she assured her. “This isn’t your fault, and he  _ will _ have to get used to things, even if that unfortunately means going through things like this. Now, I—” She narrowed her eyes, glancing at all the children seated at the table. “Where’s Gray?” She turned to Makarov. “Did you  _ lose _ one of them!?”

Makarov huffed. “I’m sure he’s here somewhere, you old hag, he probably—” 

“He’s probably off hiding because I told him I wanna gonna make him talk to Natsu again,” Erza said, crossing her arms and turning her nose up. “Because he’s afraid of me.” 

“Afraid of you and  _ in love _ with Natsu,” Cana sang with a sadistic grin. 

Mirajane snickered, but Levy, Erza, and Lisanna began to scold Cana and told her that wasn’t something they should be making fun of. 

Porlyusica narrowed her eyes. “Makarov, what is she talking about?” 

“I… have no idea,” he said, helplessly shaking his head. 

“Cana?” the healer prompted. 

“He basically told me he had a crush on him,” the brunette said with a shrug. “I’m pretty sure he does.” 

Though Porlyusica certainly didn’t want to put very much stock in the word of a twelve-year-old, a twelve-year-old known for inciting drama at that, she  _ did _ file away that particular information for later, in case it was more than Cana’s speculation and meddling. Because if that was true, it could cause more than a few issues between Natsu and Gray. Most likely, Gray avoiding the dragon slayer and acting even icier towards him, and Natsu not understanding that quite a few of his normal habits could certainly be interpreted as romantic if someone didn’t have context. 

“I’m too old to deal with this kind of thing,” Makarov grumbled. 

Porlyusica whacked the back of his head. Did he truly not understand it was only the beginning of this type of thing? Honestly, she’d never forgive the universe for letting this man end up with so many children to take care of. At this rate, they were all going to end up horribly emotionally stunted. 

But… this particular who-liked-who scenario did need to be shut down rather quickly, considering that was the  _ last _ thing Gray or Natsu needed at the moment. “Cana, it’s rude to go around saying those kinds of things,  _ especially _ behind someone’s back. I don’t want to hear it again, understand me? And you  _ will not _ tease Natsu about this.” Though she wanted to include Gray, she realized there was very little she could do about enforcing that one. 

“Yes, ma’am,” she replied sullenly, bowing her head and looking at least a  _ little _ ashamed. 

“Now, like I said, none of you are in trouble, and what happened wasn’t anyone’s fault, so I don’t want to see any of you pointing fingers at one another,” she said. “But next time I bring Natsu to the guild, I want you to be even more careful.” 

They all nodded. 

“Good. Now, I’m going to take Natsu back home.” 

* * *

If Gildarts had thought he’d been at a loss the journey back to the guild, he had  _ no idea _ where he was at concerning Natsu now. Quite honestly, if it weren't for the fact that Porlyusica might actually kill him for it, he would just leave Natsu alone up here and wait for someone else to deal with him. 

He was still wrapped in the old healer’s cloak, so Gildarts couldn’t actually see him, but those pitiful noises hadn’t ceased at all. If he didn’t know for sure that it was a human little boy beneath that cloak, he would have assumed it was some kind of wounded animal. 

Thankfully, he only sat there, awkwardly holding Natsu, for about ten minutes before Porlyusica came up the stairs. “Thank you, Gildarts. I wanted to do at least a little damage control before I brought him back home.” 

“Uh…” He glanced down at the little bundle, wincing as Natsu cried out again. “Yeah, no problem. But what the hell is wrong with him?” 

She sighed, and kneeled down next to him. “He panicked, and now he’s calling out for his father.” Slowly, she unwrapped her cloak. “We’re lucky there’s no dragons around anymore, lest we’d have one destroying the entire town if they heard him.” She sighed and shook her head. “Honestly, I don’t understand it. A dragon would  _ never _ abandon their child, no matter the circumstances, so I couldn’t tell you what’s happened here.” She pulled Natsu into her lap, softly rocking him and rubbing his back, shushing him and assuring him it was all okay. 

Gildarts had to fight to keep his mouth from falling open. He didn’t know Porlyusica was even  _ capable _ of such gentleness. 

“It’s going to take him a very long time to recover from being abandoned,” she continued. “Actually, he might never completely recover. Dragons aren’t meant to separate like that. Especially one so young from their parent.” 

“Uh… should you really be saying things like that around him?” Gildarts gestured to Natsu. Though his cries had gotten much quieter, it was obvious he wasn’t asleep. 

Porlyusica shook her head. “He’s not paying any attention to us right now. All his energy is focused on listening for his father. Perhaps if we had someone here who was closer to him, they could calm him down, but for now, I’m just going to have to take him back home and let him tire himself out and fall asleep.” 

“Oh…” Gildarts could admit, that sounded pretty miserable. For both Natsu and Porlyusica. 

“I hadn’t expected him to break down so thoroughly, after all, he managed alright when you brought him here,” she continued. “Something had to have set him off.”   
Gildarts quickly realized the healer was not actually speaking to him. She was more talking to herself, theorizing and getting her thoughts out, and Gildarts just happened to be nearby. 

“I think this is a terrible place for him,” she continued. “But the worst part is, I can’t think of a better solution. He’d fare even worse in an orphanage, and would likely be given to the Council after he became too much to handle. And of course we can’t just let him go back into the woods. My conscience would never let me know peace again…” She shook her head and held Natsu tighter. “The best thing for him would be to return him to his father, but… Like I said, that dragon never would have abandoned him if something terrible hadn’t happened, so I highly doubt that will ever happen, as sad as it is.” 

“Shit…” Pity for the little boy flooded through Gildarts, and he couldn’t help but wonder if Natsu would have been better off if he’d never stumbled across him in those bushes. Sure, he might be better taken care of here, regarding food and that kind of thing, but it was obvious he wasn’t meant for standard human life, and if he’d managed to survive on his own for months, he’d obviously been doing… okay, at the least. “Is there anything I can do for him?” He wasn’t a fan of responsibility, or at least the kind that tied him down to one place or person, but he could admit he felt responsible for Natsu. Guess that week of traveling with him had taken more of an affect on him than he originally thought. 

She shook her head. “I’m afraid not.” 

“Well, at the least, if you ever need a break or anything, let me know, and I’d be happy to take him for the day,” he offered. 

Porlyusica raised an eyebrow, and Gildarts half expected her to tell him off, chew him out for daring to think he knew what to do with a child, let alone a dragon child, but she merely nodded. “Thank you, Gildarts.” 

“Right…” He got back to his feet. “I’m gonna go finish my dinner before it gets any colder.” 

* * *

Gray dared to peak out from around the cabinet again. God, he didn’t want to know what Porlyusica would do to him if she found out he’d heard all of that. Probably skin him alive or something similar. He didn’t  _ mean _ to eavesdrop, he really, really didn’t. But he always came upstairs to hide from Erza, since normally only the S-Class wizards were allowed up here. She’d never think to look for him up here, no one would, and so long as he was careful sneaking up the stairs, no one would ever find him. 

He just hadn’t expected for Gildarts to bring Natsu up here when he panicked, and for Porlyusica to follow suit. 

And he  _ definitely _ hadn’t expected to hear all about how Natsu had been left behind by a father that was likely  _ never _ coming back. His pathetic whining was difficult enough to listen to, but losing family like that hit a little too close to home for Gray, even if it wasn’t exactly the same. It left some part of Gray wanting to come out and try to comfort Natsu, even if according to Porlyusica it would be a useless endeavor. 

But Gildarts had finally left, and Porlyusica should be gone soon, and then he would be fine to hide out up here as long as he wanted, before creeping back down when it was too late for Erza to force him to talk to Natsu. 

Although… obviously that wasn’t going to happen no matter what now. He just didn’t want to be caught by Porlyusica now. 

But for some reason, Natsu peaked over the healer’s shoulder, making eye contact with Gray. 

Gray gasped, and considered ducking behind the cabinet again, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away from Natsu, from his big, sad eyes, brimming with tears as he cried out again, apparently calling for this father that would never come back. 

Gray sighed, and stepped out from behind the cabinet. “I’m sorry about your dad.” 

Porlyusica jerked around to stare at him, just as Natsu wiggled his way out of her hold and dashed towards Gray. 

He held his arms up, taking a defensive stance, thinking he’d somehow angered the dragon slayer again. And while Natsu did tackle him, it was to wrap him in a warm hug, and bury his face in Gray’s shoulder, the pathetic whining morphing into much more human sounding sobs. 

Gray let out a quiet  _ oof _ as he fell to the ground, enveloped by Natsu’s smothering heat. “Mi-Miss Porlyusica?” he asked, unsure of what he should do. 

The healer let out a breath and shook her head, but didn’t offer any actual assistance. 

Natsu continued to rub his cheek against Gray, his tears soaking into the shirt he was miraculously still wearing. 

At a complete loss, Gray couldn’t do anything more than hug him back. Sure, maybe he’d wanted to get closer to the dragon slayer, but… but not like this. 

“I miss him,” Natsu whispered. “Where’d he go? Why can’t I find him?” 

“I…” Gray clutched him tighter, and slowly pushed himself up so he could more comfortably hold him without being smashed beneath him. “I don’t know…” What the hell else could he say? He didn’t want to repeat Porlyusica’s speculations and make him feel even worse, or give him false hope by assuring him he’d find his dad again one day. But then again, Natsu might not even be listening to him. 

The other boy sniffled, then pressed his nose into Gray’s hair, sniffing at him. 

Gray tensed up, not at all used to the foreign gesture, but he was determined not to mess this up again, especially while Natsu was already so upset. “Miss Porlyusica?” he asked again. 

“He likes you, Gray,” was all she said. 

Gray had no idea  _ why. _ What was there about him to like? He was mean, and gruff, and cold, and always messed everything up. His first meeting with Natsu had only proven that. 

Natsu slumped against him, and Gray realized he’d fallen asleep.  _ How _ had he fallen asleep so fast? 

Porlyusica noticed, and stepped over to pick Natsu up, nestling him into her chest. “He’s had a very long day, so as soon as you helped him relax, he fell asleep.” She patted the dragon slayer’s back, and he let out a soft noise. 

“Why does he like me?” Gray asked. 

The healer shook her head. “I don’t know. That’s something you need to ask him yourself.” 

“I…” Gray reached up to fidget with his necklace. “Can I come see him tomorrow? I promise I’ll do better this time. I won’t go into his home.” 

Porlyusica’s eyes narrowed. “I suppose I can’t stop you, and I’m sure Natsu would like the chance to actually get to talk to you without fists, or tears.” 

Gray gasped, not actually expecting to get told yes. “Really?” 

“Yes, really.” She readjusted Natsu so she could carry him more easily. “And thank you, Gray. I don’t think you realize what you mean to Natsu already.” She turned around to head towards the stairs. “And I’ll be nice enough not to tell anyone you were up here, but don’t let me catch you where you’re not supposed to be again.” 

“Yes, Miss Porlyusica.” 

The healer huffed as she descended the stairs. 

Gray just stared after her, trying to wrap his head around what she’d just said. Did Natsu seriously like him? He had to, right? To hug him like that? Even if he had just been really upset about his dad… 

Well, maybe he would get a second chance tomorrow. And he’d make it count. Cana was wrong. It wasn’t too late, and he hadn’t messed it up too bad this time. 

He would do better. He had to. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise the next chapter will be much cuter


	5. Chapter 5

“Can I sleep with you?” Natsu asked, clutching his favorite blanket to his chest as he gazed up at Porlyusica. He’d woken up on the walk back, but he was still tired. “Please…” He didn’t like the idea of sleeping outside the little den he’d created, even if it was nowhere close to being the same as his den with Igneel. But he didn’t want to sleep alone tonight. So he’d grabbed his new favorite blanket, Gray’s shirt, and the ribbon used as a headband that Lisanna had left behind, and decided to ask Porlyusica to share her bed for the night. 

The healer sighed, clearly not wanting to let him, and Natsu turned away, bringing the blanket up to his face. “Never mind…” 

“You can,” she said, though he could still sense her reluctance. 

He shook his head. She didn’t want to share, and that was fine. He’d asked, but she didn’t want him in her space, and it would be rude,  _ wrong, _ to insist that he be allowed to intrude. So he took his things and ventured back to his den, resettling his blanket and curling up. He tied Lisanna’s ribbon around his wrist, and folded Gray’s shirt up to use as a pillow. 

Igneel’s scent was quickly fading from his scarf, and he knew the last little traces of it would be gone within a few days. It was a miracle it had lasted as long as it had, and it was another reason Natsu had been so reluctant to wash in the rivers. 

Sure, now he had Gray and Lisanna, but… it wasn’t the same. 

He whimpered, and buried his nose in Gray’s shirt. Maybe Gray would share his den with him if he asked… Maybe… maybe he could actually invite the other boy into his own den, to make up for… how bad it had gone the first time. 

He’d just been shocked, was all. Not used to sharing, already on edge, and then someone he didn’t know was in his home. It was just basic instinct! 

But then Gray had hit him back, with just as much fury. 

It was  _ great. _ Natsu wanted to fight him again. Or maybe cuddle with him… he wasn’t sure. Maybe they could do both. 

The thought made him smile, chasing away his worries about Igneel, at least for now. 

* * *

Gray glared at Erza out of the corner of his eye. Of course, it was  _ today, _ of all days, that she noticed him sneaking off. And as per regular Erza fashion, she’d grabbed him by the ear, demanded to know where he was going, and when he refused to tell her, she dragged him off to the Master like the little tattletale she was. 

Makarov had been reluctant to believe that Porlyusica had told Gray it was okay for him to come over, but had eventually relented, saying it would be good for Gray to apologize and hash it out with Natsu. 

_ Unfortunately, _ he decided to send Erza with him. Because of course he had. So now he was stuck following the bossy redhead to the healer’s cabin,  _ and _ he had to share Natsu’s attention with her. 

It was  _ bullshit.  _

“I want to learn more about his magic,” Erza said. “Doesn’t it sound super cool? And he can breathe  _ fire!  _ I wonder if I could ever get some kind of fire armor…” 

Gray rolled his eyes. The last thing Erza needed was more armor. And quite honestly, he didn’t particularly care about the logistics of Natsu’s magic. He knew he used fire, and he knew it made him into a dragon. That’s all that really mattered, right? 

She leaned over to poke him when he didn’t respond, right on the cheek. 

“Stop it.” 

She ignored his request. “Are you gonna tell him you like him today?” 

“I don’t like him.” He still couldn’t  _ believe _ Cana had told them all that. He was going to  _ kill  _ her for it. And then tell Mirajane that Cana had tried asking  _ him _ out the last time they had broken up. Yeah, that would show her to stop being such a little gossiping busybody. 

“Well I mean, you like him more than any of us,” she pointed out. “So he must be special. Why  _ do _ you like him so much?” 

“I just told you I didn’t.” He didn’t know why he was even trying though. Once Erza got an idea in her head, it didn’t leave. She could do or think no wrong, in her own head, anyways. 

“That’s not a real answer.” She poked him again. 

Gray grit his teeth, and had it been anyone other than Erza, he might have instigated a fight, but he knew she’d kick his ass. “I dunno, I just like him.” Not in the way  _ she _ thought he did, that was for damn sure, but he couldn’t deny that there was something about Natsu that he just… That he just  _ liked. _

Erza smirked, but thankfully that seemed to appease her, and she left him alone for the rest of the walk. 

* * *

Natsu woke up to hushed voices chatting in the kitchen, which he immediately found strange. Porlyusica was very quiet, and normally only talked when he talked to her first, or she needed him to do something. He yawned, and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, before perking up as he recognized one of the voices as  _ Gray’s. _ He took in a deep breath, smiling at his scent, and noticed the extra one. His nose twitched, and he recognized it as the redhead girl’s.  _ Erza’s. _ Sharp, unyielding metal, with a hint of sweetness and sugar. 

What was  _ she _ doing here? He hoped Gray had come to see him, but he didn’t know why she might have come. Did she have business with Porlyusica? 

But that didn’t change that Natsu wanted to see Gray, so he uncurled, crawled out of his box, stretched, and wiggled out from underneath the bed. 

“Ah, good morning, Natsu,” Porlyusica greeted. “Erza and Gray have come to visit you today.” 

“Hi, Natsu!” Erza greeted, with just as much enthusiasm and determination as the day before, and  _ way _ too much perkiness for so early in the morning, in Natsu’s opinion. “Is it okay if we stay and play with you today?” 

He shrugged, walking right by her without anymore of a response, his full attention on Gray. 

“Uh…” Gray took a step back. “H-Hey, Natsu. Look, I’m sorry about last time.” He shook his head. “I didn’t know about the uh, the dragon stuff, but—” 

Natsu pounced on him. 

Gray fell back, a startled yelp escaping him as he was unprepared for Natsu’s full weight to barrel into him, and they tumbled down to the floor. 

“Gray!” Erza gasped, rushing over to grab Natsu by the scarf. “Natsu, he was trying to say sorry!” 

Natsu shook her off. His fingers curled into Gray’s shoulders, though he was careful not to hold too tightly or cut him with his nails, as he sat on top of him, leaning down so that their faces were mere inches apart. 

“Uh…” Gray tried to push back, but between Natsu and the floor, there was nowhere to go. Erza tried telling him to get off and grab him again, but Porlyusica hushed her. 

“M’sorry I hit you,” he mumbled. “Not used to people in my den.” 

Some of the alarm and discomfort faded from Gray’s expression. “Oh, well…” He turned his head away. “Guess it’s fine. I probably wouldn’t like it if someone I didn’t know came in my room without asking either.” 

“Hey.” Natsu poked at his cheek, causing Gray to turn his attention back to him. “Wanna come see it?” 

Porlyusica made a surprised noise. 

“See what?” Gray asked with a frown. 

“My den.” He nodded his head towards the bed. “I’ll let you, if you wanna.” 

“Really?” The other boy’s frown disappeared, something excited lighting up in his eyes. 

“Mmhm.” Natsu climbed off him and wandered back to the bed, excitedly waiting for Gray to follow him. 

“I’ll make you some breakfast, Natsu,” Porlyusica said. “Erza, Gray, do you want any?” 

Erza politely turned the healer down, saying that she’d already had breakfast, but Gray said he wanted some, before following after Natsu, Erza hot on his heels. 

Natsu smiled, and crawled beneath the bed. He tried to straighten things up a little in the few seconds it took Gray to follow, but it was a useless endeavor. 

“You got more things,” Gray said as he wiggled beneath the bed, before wincing as he hit his head. “How the hell do you sit up in here?” 

“Don’t.” Why would he need to? This place was for  _ sleeping, _ and being safe and comfortable. And there was nowhere safer in Porlyusica’s cabin. It was enclosed, and dark, and any big threats couldn’t fit beneath the bed. 

“I wanna see!” Erza exclaimed, falling to her knees and looking beneath the bed. “Whoa! It looks really cozy!” 

Natsu growled, soft and low, but Erza very clearly got the message. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t come in unless you invite me,” she assured him, though she looked rather disappointed about it. “But why does Gray get to come in when I don’t?” 

Gray stuck his tongue out at her. “Because I’m better than you.” 

“No, really!” Erza laid down, and rested her chin in her hands, though she was very careful not to even lean beneath the bed. “I wanna know! Is it a dragon thingie?” 

Natsu frowned. What did she  _ mean, _ was it a dragon thingie? “‘Cause I like the way Gray smells. And I trust him.” 

Gray whipped around to stare at him with wide eyes. “You  _ trust  _ me?” 

Natsu nodded, continuing to straighten things up from when he’d messed them up and rustled around last night in his sleep. “You hit me back, so you’re a good fighter. And you made me feel better when I got sad about my dad.” 

Gray continued to stare at him, his eyes only growing wider. “Y-You like me because I hit you  _ back?” _

Natsu shrugged. Honestly, he had no idea how he could explain it any better to Gray. He trusted him, liked him, because his nose told him it was a good idea. Porlyusica had said regular people couldn’t smell things like he did, so if Gray couldn’t actually experience that, Natsu had no idea how to convey the feelings. “Guess so.” 

“If you fight with me, I’ll hit you back too,” Erza offered. “Though I  _ do not _ condone unnecessary fighting!” 

Natsu made an excited noise. He’d  _ loved _ getting to wrestle and fight with Lisanna yesterday, and even his bout with Gray, however brief, had been fun. 

“Don’t let her trick you, man,” Gray warned. “She’ll do more than hit you. She’ll  _ kill _ you.” Then he frowned. “And you punch Mira all the time! Don’t give me that shit about ‘unnecessary fighting,’ Erza!” 

This time, Erza stuck her tongue out at him. 

“Hang on.” Gray began to rustle through Natsu’s meager belongings, and the dragon slayer forced back a whine of alarm. Just because he’d given Gray the okay to come into his home, didn't mean he'd wanted or expected him to start moving all his stuff around! 

“Is this my  _ shirt?” _ he demanded, removing the piece of clothing from Natsu’s bed. 

“Yes!” Natsu lunged over to tear it out of his grasp, before meticulously folding it up and placing it back where it had been. 

“Why the hell do  _ you _ have it?” His frown was back, though more confused than angry. “I spent all day looking for that thing after I left here!” 

“I…” Natsu clutched at it, remembering how Porlyusica had insisted he give it back. “It smells like you…” 

“Well yeah, it’s mine!” Gray continued, reaching for it again. “Give it back!” 

“B-But I—” Natsu glanced between Gray and the shirt. He wanted to spend more time with him, and that meant getting Gray to like him, which meant keeping him happy and  _ probably _ giving his things back, but Natsu already slept better with his den having the other boy’s scent lingering around. “I like it… Your scent, it—” 

“That’s  _ weird!”  _ Gray shouted. 

“Gray!” Erza scolded. 

“It… It is?” he whimpered, tears building in his eyes. Did… did  _ regular _ people not do things like that? But how did they sleep at night, without being surrounded by their favorite things and items that smelled of the people they cared about? How could they ever relax or feel safe? No… Not only was this something they just  _ didn’t do, _ they thought it was  _ strange. _ The breath caught in Natsu’s throat, and he quickly shoved the shirt into Gray’s chest. 

Gray realized his mistake seconds too late. “Wait, no, you can keep it, I didn’t mean—” He shook his head, and desperately looked to Erza for advice, but she merely scoffed, very clearly letting him know he’d messed this up himself. 

Natsu shook his head, and refused to take the shirt back when Gray tried to give it to him. If he wanted it back, he should have it. And… And if it was really weird to do things like that, then he… needed to stop doing them. Porlyusica told him he  _ had _ to start acting normal, and that meant stopping things like this. 

As much as it didn’t make sense, and as much as it upset him. 

And that probably meant he should give Lisanna her ribbon back, too… 

Natsu had half a mind to tell Gray to go away as he curled back up in his bed, but maybe if he stayed his scent would linger longer in his home, since he wouldn’t have the shirt anymore, before it would fade. Fade just like Igneel’s had. 

“Fix it!” Erza hissed. 

“I—” 

“You made him sad!” she continued, obviously trying to keep her voice low, but considering how close she was, Natsu wouldn’t even need his heightened senses to still be able to hear her. 

Gray draped the shirt over Natsu, like it was some kind of tiny blanket. “I didn’t mean—I just—Yeah, it’s weird—” 

Natsu flinched. 

“Weird for  _ people,” _ Gray continued. “But not for dragons, yeah? So… so it’s okay. You can keep it.” 

But Natsu shook his head, and twisted around to throw the shirt back at Gray, with much more force than necessary. “Just take it back if you want it so bad!” He’d be excited,  _ honored, _ if he knew someone else kept items of his in their den, just to remind them of his scent. And Gray had gotten  _ mad _ at him. 

Gray grit his teeth. “I’m  _ trying _ to be  _ nice.” _

“Go away!” he snapped. 

“Gray, get out from under there,” Erza said firmly. 

“But—” 

_ “Now.” _

Gray mumbled a string of curse words that had Natsu’s eyes widening. Igneel would have kept him inside the den for  _ days _ if he’d ever said anything like that. But he listened to Erza and maneuvered his way out from beneath the bed. 

Leaving behind the shirt. 

Natsu growled, deep in his chest, and snatched the cloth, wadding it up and tossing it out from underneath the bed. 

“Stubborn asshole!” Gray snapped. 

_ “Gray!”  _ Erza scolded. 

Natsu breathed out a small spurt of fire, letting anger overtake the embarrassment and sadness he felt. It wasn’t quite so miserable, and hearing Gray’s undignified squeak made him feel a little bit better. 

“God, why am I even trying with you?” Gray demanded. “I tried to be nice! And you—You— _ Ugh!”  _ He got to his feet and stomped off, muttering more curses the entire way. 

“Gray, get back here!” Erza shouted, chasing after him. 

Natsu curled up tighter, and ignored Porlyusica when she tried to coax him out. Once again, he’d messed up. Just like last time, he’d let Gray upset him, even though that obviously hadn’t been his intention, and then he’d gotten mean back. He pressed his arms over his head, letting out a pathetic whine. 

Why did humans have to be so  _ complicated?  _

* * *

“Fucking leave me alone, Erza!” Gray snapped over his shoulder. He’d had a second chance, Natsu had given him the chance to completely start over, and he’d fucked it up.  _ Again. _ The last thing he wanted to listen to right now was Erza’s scolding. 

“No!” she shouted, reaching out to grab his shoulder and spin him around. 

Gray lashed out, aiming a punch for her cheek. Normally, he wouldn’t have dared to try such a thing, but he was  _ pissed. _ And hurt. And confused. And feeling incredibly guilty over making Natsu feel so bad over something he had no control over. 

Erza caught his fist, and Gray gasped, expecting a retaliation, but she merely sighed. “You’re so angry all the time.” 

Gray grit his teeth, but didn’t try to escape her hold. “So what?” 

“It’s messing everything up for you,” she said. “It’s messing up  _ Natsu _ for you.” 

“He’s messing up himself!” 

Erza sighed, and let go of his fist, leaving his arm to fall back down to his side. “Maybe. A little bit. I think… that he’s angry, too, but it’s not just  _ his _ fault that this happened again between you two.” 

“And why the hell do you care?” he asked. Cana was already sticking her nose in his business enough, the last thing he wanted was for Erza to start doing the same. They weren’t  _ friends, _ and he didn’t want her to act like it. 

Erza took a deep breath. “Obviously, you don’t want to be friends with me. I don’t understand why, but I… I guess I can’t force you. But you  _ do _ want to be friends with Natsu. And we’re both members of Fairy Tail, so we need to look out for each other, whether we’re actually friends or not.  _ So, _ I’m telling you you need to be better with Natsu, otherwise you’re going to mess it all up.” 

“I’ve  _ already _ messed it all up!” he shouted, losing his very precarious composure. What kind of idiot would give him a  _ third _ chance? Not everyone was as fucking stubborn when it came to befriending him as Erza fucking Scarlet. All the other kids had long since given up, and Natsu wouldn’t be too far behind. 

She shook her head. “No, I don’t think you have. Obviously, Natsu really, really likes you for some reason. For some dragon reason, I think.” 

Gray scoffed.  _ Dragons. _ Yeah, dragons seemed to be the main problem here. Dragons that had left Natsu, and dragons that had made Natsu  _ into _ a dragon. “I just… I don’t understand… And I don’t know what to do…” The words tumbled out, much to his dismay. “I just want him to like me, but I don’t know anything about dragons and I just keep doing the  _ wrong thing.” _

Erza hummed, and narrowed her eyes, like she was thinking hard. And damn, that scared Gray more than anything had in a while. 

“Well then, I’m gonna help you learn!” she declared. “I’m gonna make sure you know more about dragons than anyone else, and then you’ll know exactly what to do with Natsu!” 

“How the hell are you gonna do that?” he asked sullenly. 

“Well I…” She shook her head. “I’m not sure yet. But we can ask Miss Porlyusica what she knows, to start! And then we’ll go from there!” 

“I still don’t understand why the hell you’re doing this,” he said. He’d been nothing but an asshole to Erza, and to be honest, he’d deserved every punch and tattle she’d been responsible for. 

“Because, even if you don’t want to be my friend, I still want to be yours. And friends help each other out. So I’m gonna help you get to know Natsu.” She smiled, and took his hand. Instinctually, Gray tried to pull back, but he stopped himself, letting her intertwine their fingers. 

“Fine.”

"Good." She spun around, and tugged him back to Porlyusica's cabin. "Now, we're not leaving today, until we make some progress." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Erza, the unintentional, worst wingman in existence
> 
> DW, in the future Gray and Natsu return the favor and help her out with Mira


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this chapter got kinda cute, when I originally intending it to be pretty angsty so like... I should just stop planning these and see where they go at this point lmao

“You can go back right now, young man,” Porlyusica said firmly as soon as she opened the door. “I can’t even get him to eat now, and given how malnourished he is, if he keeps this up, it could be  _ very _ bad.” 

Gray bit his lip, and had to fight not to hide behind Erza’s back. Had he really upset Natsu so much that he wouldn’t eat? And he knew Porlyusica was right about him needing to. Gray had noticed how thin he was, the way his bones jutted out, how hollow his cheeks were. “I… I didn’t mean to.” 

“Be that as it may,” she said. “He is still very upset, and now I have to undo the damage of it. You didn’t just hurt his feelings, Gray. You told him that something he can’t help, something that is a fundamental basic instinct to him, was  _ strange. _ And now he is very confused and hurt.” 

“But Miss Porlyusica, he didn’t know!” Erza protested. “How was he supposed to?” 

The healer took a deep breath, and glanced over her shoulder, presumably looking towards Natsu’s den, before she stepped outside and closed the door. “Gray, you overheard me talking with Gildarts last night. You  _ know _ my thoughts about Natsu, that he shouldn’t even be here.” 

“What?” Erza demanded. 

Gray looked down at the ground, unable to look Porlyusica in the eye. “Yeah…” She thought that Natsu should go back to the dragons, and the only reason he didn’t, was because there  _ weren’t _ any dragons left to go back to. He wasn’t  _ supposed _ to be here. 

“If he doesn’t improve within a week or two,” she continued. “I’m going to arrange for him to stay out here with me. He won’t be joining the guild, and he’ll live out here in the woods where he’s more comfortable and won’t have to worry about you  _ humans.”  _

“But Miss Porlyusica!” Erza argued. “How will he ever make friends? How will he—?” 

She shook her head. “I hope it doesn’t come to that. I honestly don’t want to deal with him for so long, and I  _ do _ think if he could adjust, as well as  _ you _ lot learning to adjust for his sake, the guild would be the best option. But as these things keep happening, I’m beginning to lose hope that it will work out. Because if you take too long to learn, Natsu is going to give up on you. He is young, and confused, but I don’t believe he’s stupid. He’s  _ not _ going to keep trying if nothing changes. And he  _ will _ lash out. I don’t want him to end up hurting anyone else because none of  _ you _ know how to treat him.” 

Gray couldn’t help it. He shuffled behind Erza, grabbed onto the back of her breastplate, and took a deep, shuddering breath. He wasn’t going to  _ cry. _ He wasn’t! But he felt so  _ guilty. _ At least everyone else had tried,  _ were _ trying, even if they slipped up. But he’d messed it up with Natsu  _ twice, _ offended him and hurt his feelings. And if he kept this up, he was going to do irreversible damage, wasn’t he? He wouldn’t just mess up his own chances with Natsu, he was going to make him dislike and distrust humans in general! 

“Gray, listen to me,” Porlyusica said. “I’m not telling you this to make you feel bad. As much of a nuisance that this has caused, I know you didn’t mean for it to happen.” She stepped closer, and nudged him back from Erza, forcing him to actually look at her. “I just want you to know how important you are to him already. He really, really likes you. But I don’t think a simple apology is going to make up for this.” 

“Then what should I do?” he asked. “I don’t know what I—I—” Much to his horror, his voice started to shake and crack, causing Erza to whip around and give him a concerned look. He’d never hear the end of it if he started crying in front of her, but that didn’t stop the tears from building in his eyes. “I know I mess everything up, and I’m sorry! I’m sorry! It just  _ keeps happening!”  _ He brought his hands to his face, hoping it would help hide the tears if they actually fell. “I-I-I just—” 

Erza took his hand, gently, and pulled it back from his face, holding it close to her chest. “Please don’t cry,” she requested, shaking her head. “Please.” 

“I tried to give the shirt back,” he continued. “But he didn’t want it! I don’t know what to do! I just don’t!” 

“Gray!” Porlyusica grabbed his shoulder. “You need to calm down, for one thing.” She glanced towards the door, a wary look in her eye. “If he hears you so upset…” She shook her head. “Never mind. You—” 

“I don’t know how people work!” he exclaimed, all the emotions he’d been burying ever since he’d come to Fairy Tail flooding out now that his defenses had been lowered. “I definitely don’t know how dragons work!” Tears poured down his cheeks, and he fell to his knees, dragging Erza with him as she refused to let go of his hand. “I’m gonna mess him up like I messed everything else up! Like Lyon and Ur and—” He yanked himself out of Erza’s hold, gasping for breath, curling in on himself as he tuned out her and Porlyusica trying to console him, get him calmed back down. 

Natsu shouldn’t like him. Natsu shouldn’t want anything to  _ do _ with him. All Gray did was ruin everything, and all he’d done so far was hurt Natsu. 

God, he was horrible, wasn’t he? Everyone here had been so nice to him, had done nothing but want to help him and get to know him, and all he’d done was treat them terribly.  _ Why? _ Why had he  _ done _ that!? 

The tears blurred his vision, and Erza and Porlyusica’s voices had melded into static. He didn’t notice the cabin door creaking open, or the blur with pink hair and a white scarf rushing towards him. Not until Natsu had tackled him, whining in confusion and worry as he pulled Gray close, sniffing at him and nudging against him with his nose. 

Erza tried to say something, but Porlyusica hushed her. 

Gray scarcely knew what was happening, but he didn’t  _ care. _ All he cared about was how wrong he’d been, how he’d completely ruined any chance of having a good life here, of having people who cared about him again. 

But… then he didn’t  _ want _ people to care about him again. Because then it would just hurt all over again when they were gone. 

Heat exploded around him, and a strange noise came from Natsu’s chest, a  _ purr, _ so loud and strong it made his chest vibrate. A cheek pressed against his own, and warm breath tickled his ear. 

Gray gasped, trying to get his breathing and the sobbing under control, as he fully realized Natsu was sitting on top of him, for the second time that day. No, he was  _ laying _ on top of him, with his arms wrapped around his shoulders, rubbing his face against his own, a thin, soothing layer of flame keeping them warm. 

“M’sorry,” Natsu mumbled, though the purring didn’t stop. “Didn’t mean to upset you. Please don’t cry. Please.” 

If Natsu thought that would help, it certainly didn’t. The sobs returned full force, because why the hell was  _ Natsu _ the one who was apologizing? Gray was the one who had hurt his feelings! Had told Natsu he was weird for the way he showed he cared about people! It wasn’t  _ right!  _

Natsu whined, and held him tighter. “I’m sorry I breathed fire at you. I didn’t mean it! I… I—” 

Gray put his hand on Natsu’s chest, gently pushing him back a bit so he could look him in the eye. Those strange, beautiful, dragon eyes. “It’s my fault… It’s all my fault…” 

Natsu shook his head. “You didn’t know.” 

“That doesn’t matter!” 

Natsu frowned, a fang poking out over his bottom lip, and Gray  _ swore _ his slightly pointed ears began to droop downwards. Why did he look so  _ sad? _

He leaned down, and ran his tongue over Gray’s cheek. And  _ that _ was enough to finally snap him out of his meltdown. The fact that Natsu was  _ licking his face. _ And not only was he licking it, but his tongue felt  _ weird. _ Rough, textured, similar to a cat’s. 

Had it been anyone else, at any other moment in time, Gray would have shoved them off and probably cussed at them, maybe hit them, depending on who it was. But his shock doubled with his determination not to make Natsu upset again kept him still, though he had gone completely stiff. 

It took to the third lick for Gray to realize that Natsu was licking the tears off his face, and he thanked  _ god _ that he wasn’t leaving behind much saliva, because this was already weird and gross enough. 

_ Not _ that Gray was going to say that. No way in hell. 

It took seven licks for Natsu to be satisfied. Gray knew. He counted every one, still laying perfectly still and not saying a word, unsure of what even to  _ think _ of what was going on. 

“Gray?” Erza stepped forward, ignoring Porulyuisca’s requests to stay back. “Gray, are you alright?” She kneeled down, reaching her hand out. “I—” 

Natsu whipped around, all the concern and softness in his expression twisting into a snarl. He crouched over Gray, and the temperature rose to an uncomfortable degree. 

Porlyusica rushed forward to tug Erza back, and Gray gasped, “Natsu!” He’d thought he’d liked Erza! Or at least, he hadn’t seemed to  _ dislike _ her. So why had he gotten so aggressive all of a sudden? 

“Miss Porlyusica, what if he hurts him!?” Erza demanded. “He’s on fire! Gray isn’t fireproof! He—” 

“Hush, dear. Trust me, the last thing Natsu is going to do is hurt him,” Porlyusica assured her, still pulling her away from the two boys. 

Natsu ignored them both, his full attention back on Gray, every hint of aggression disappearing. “Are you okay now?” He finally got off Gray, settling on the ground next to him rather than directly on top of him. 

“I…” Gray reached up, wiping away the last few tears that Natsu hadn’t managed to lick off. “I don’t…” 

The other boy whined, and laid down next to him, nudging at Gray’s head with his nose, right behind his ear. Gray couldn’t decide if he was more like a weird dog or a weird cat. 

Well… he supposed he was just a regular dragon. 

Though it was still incredibly strange experiencing someone who looked (mostly) like a normal human behaving this way, Gray swore he was going to get used to it. And just because it was weird… didn’t mean it was  _ bad. _ Because it wasn’t! Natsu wanted to show he cared, and this was the only way he knew how to do that. 

“I’m sorry I made you so upset,” Natsu murmured, his voice soft in Gray’s ear. 

Gray shook his head. “I’m sorry I said you were weird. Please. I want you to keep my shirt, especially if it makes you feel better.” 

“Are you sure?” Natsu asked, so much hope in his voice that Gray never could have told him no even if he wanted to. 

“Yeah, I’m sure. And if you find any more, you can keep them,” he said. “I lose them all the time.” 

The purring returned, even louder than before. 

Gray pushed himself up, sniffling and wiping at his nose with the back of his hand, not wanting to deal with the embarrassment of snot running down his face on top of Natsu, Erza, and Porlyusica watching him become a sobbing mess. 

“Why did you cry?” Natsu asked, still curled up on the ground as he watched Gray’s every move. 

“Why did you cry yesterday?” he refuted. 

“I—” He turned his head away, his pitiful frown returning. 

_ Dammit! _ Why couldn’t he just keep his fucking mouth shut? Just because he was embarrassed about crying didn’t mean he should try and make Natsu upset over his dad all over again! “I’m sorry, I didn’t—” 

“I missed my dad,” he said. “I miss him a lot. You miss your dad, don’t you? Or your family? I…” His shoulders tensed up. “I know you don’t have one. Or-Or that you haven’t seen them in a long time.” 

Gray gasped, and the tears almost returned in full force, with him just  _ barely _ able to hold them back. “How did you know that?” he demanded. As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized that Porlyusica had probably just told him, even if that didn’t seem like the healer. 

“You don’t smell like anyone,” he whispered. “Everyone has other people’s scents on them, but… but you don’t. There’s… no one. And I…” He finally rolled back over to look at Gray, his own eyes shining with tears. “I didn’t want you to be alone anymore.” 

Gray pulled his knees to his chest. So he was so lonely even dragons could smell it, huh? “Oh… Yeah… I don’t have one.” And he hadn’t for a long time. 

Natsu pushed himself up, and leaned against Gray, resting his head on his shoulder. “Guess I don’t have one anymore either… Maybe Igneel just didn’t want me anymore…” 

“That’s not true!” Gray shouted, a small bit of anger bubbling through him at the mere thought of Natsu’s dragon abandoning him on purpose. Why would he  _ do _ that? Natsu didn’t deserve that, especially if what Porlyusica said about dragon families was true! “It can’t be!” 

Natsu blinked, seemingly surprised by such a strong reaction. “Maybe not…” 

“He  _ didn’t,” _ Gray insisted again. “And—And if he did, he’s stupid! I’d never leave you alone! Never!” The second he realized what he said, he clapped his hands over his mouth, red spreading across his cheeks. 

But Natsu didn’t seem to think the comment was strange. He just smiled, and pressed even closer. “I’ll never leave you alone either… I’ll make sure you smell like me, so you won’t be lonely anymore.” 

“Huh?” 

“It must be awful,” he continued, not even noticing Gray’s confusion. “When Igneel’s scent started to disappear I…” He bit his lip. “It’s terrible not being able to smell everyone you care about all the time. It must be awful that you… don’t have anyone.” 

“Natsu, humans can’t really smell each other,” he said. “Or well… I mean I  _ guess _ we can if someone just won’t take a shower or something, or sometimes Mira and Cana wear these terrible perfumes that are just  _ way _ too strong, but… we can’t smell each other like that.” 

Natsu’s eyes went wide. “B-But… how do you know who’s claimed who? Or… Or how do you sleep at night without everyone’s scents to make you feel safe? I don’t understand!” 

Gray thought his comment about Natsu being weird for keeping his shirt couldn’t make him feel anymore guilty, but it wasn’t until Natsu explained how important scents were to him that it really sank in what that had meant for him. But it was obvious Natsu was moving past it, so Gray wasn’t going to keep bringing it up, just so he could apologize over and over again. “I-I mean,” he forced out. “I guess we just don’t. I’m sorry.” 

Natsu let out a distressed noise. “But then how will everyone know you belong to me?” 

“Uh…” Gray wasn’t sure about this  _ belonging _ to Natsu, but… it probably just meant they were friends, right? Yeah, it had to, and he was just phrasing it weird because… well because of dragons. That seemed to be the reason for everything he did, after all. “I… don’t know? I mean, I guess people who get married wear rings so everyone knows that they—” 

“Then let’s get married!” Natsu exclaimed, jerking back and grinning, like it was the best idea ever. “I want all the humans to know you’re mine, too!” 

“What!? Natsu, no!” He shook his head. “We can’t just—We’re way too young to get married! B-Besides… that’s for… for people who like… love each other… like… romantically…” His voice got quieter the longer the sentence went on, as Natsu looked more and more disappointed. “Look, it’s not something you can just  _ do.” _

“That’s  _ stupid,” _ the other boy grumbled, a sullen look coming over his features. 

“I-I guess,” Gray said, doing everything in his power to force down the giddy feelings that had arisen when Natsu demanded they get married. It wasn’t like Natsu knew what it actually  _ meant, _ and even if he did, so what? Gray didn’t like him like that! He didn’t! He just didn’t! “But yeah… we can’t… just get married.” 

Natsu huffed and crossed his arms. 

Gray took a deep breath, and god, it wasn’t even noon and he already felt exhausted. Probably from all the weird, terrible different emotions he’d experienced in the past hour alone. He wondered if maybe,  _ possibly, _ Natsu would let him take a nap in his den, because damn, Erza was right about that. It really had looked cozy. “Hey.” He poked Natsu in the side. “You need to go eat your breakfast. Porlyusica is worried. She says you’re too skinny.” 

Natsu glanced down at himself, then tugged at his shirt, as if seeing if it was too loose. Personally, Gray thought it  _ was _ a little baggy on his scrawny frame. 

“Guess I am hungry…” he said. “But you’ll come eat with me, right?” 

“I… I guess,” Gray said, still a little shocked that Natsu hadn’t actually given up on him this time, that he still wanted him around. Despite proving he still cared about him with the bizarre way he’d comforted him when he’d been crying. 

“Good!” Natsu jumped to his feet, before tugging Gray up and dragging him back to the cabin. Gray dimly noticed that Porlyusica and Erza must have gone back inside, though he had no idea how much of their conversation they had been around for.  _ God _ he’d hoped they hadn’t heard the marriage bit. 

“You’re gonna stay all day, right?” Natsu asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. 

“If you want me to.” 

He grinned, and Gray wondered why that smile made his chest feel so warm. 

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to come chat with me on tumblr! 
> 
> @animateddragon: fandom blog 
> 
> @cats-crows-and-cryptids (main): personal blog


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